#oh! it is also some sort of chinese valentine day | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

therealnuclearplatypus · 2 years

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Vazhang hcs please!!

akshkekwndk YAY!

okay so like we agree that these two are, like, idiots in love

like fr these bitches istg. himbo energy to the mAX even tho neither of them actually are T_T it's just their vibe

anw leo loves tinkering and messing around with his toolbelt, right? it's a pretty popular headcanon atp that leo makes jewellery for whichever s/o he's being shipped with. and you know he does that for frank (frank had a complete breakdown one day—i hc my guy with severe anxiety don't mind me—and that anxiety attack was sort of the result of all the culminated stress of maintaining the image of the perfect praetor and leader and, in his head, grandson. i think grandma zhang, no matter how much good she did to him, still gave him a bit of a i-need-to-make-her-proud issue. so yeah, after that, he just let go and got a bunch ear piercings, a nose septum ring and tattoos. more on those later. its a minor rebellion, but its enough).

as i was saying, leo LOVES making earrings and rings for him, necklaces, bracelets, anklets and whatnot. frank loves every single one of em, but he's running out of space to put them all :/

frank lets leo try on his praetor's cape once. something about an enormous cape dwarfing his lil boyfie almost made him refuse to take it back, ever. leo now randomly steals it and sleeps on frank's bed with it. it makes frank melt.

frank calls leo "'nidas" and leo calls frank "fai"

frank's tattoos: he cuts himself sometimes when the anxiety gets too much, so hazel had drawn a butterfly on his left forearm, near his legion tattoo, and told him not to kill the butterfly. he knew the pen ink would fade and the butterfly would die anyways, so he got it tattooed, permanently, so that he can remember.

he also has a snake down his spine that moves whenever he does and leo just loves that.

leo ended up wanting tattoos too, so they got a matching one. for frank, it's the words "a love that moves the sun ..." across his collarbone and for leo it's the words "... and all the other stars" across his own collarbone.

leo also got a dragon on his hip and feathers on his heart ("hope is the things with feathers"—>hope is "esperanza"—>his mother).

their first date was at a mexican cuisine frank suggested, their second at a chinese restaurant leo came up with. they both think that's hilarious for some reason

frank has a skateboard leo can ride better than he can. frank complains about it often like "why can you ride that thing better than i can?!" "i can ride lotsa things pretty well you know 😏😉" cue frank smacking him

leo stealing frank's shirts >>>>>>>>

frank loves seeing him in his clothes so that works out fine

frank's favourite flower is the orchid so leo makes it a point to buy him some every valentine's day, birthday and christmas <3

leo's is roses because he's a sucker for clichés, so frank does the same to him <33

frank also loves jades, so when leo proposes to him (in a dramatic-ass way, you know it's true), frank's ring has a jade inset in the centre.

like i said, idiots in love <333

frank ends up quitting the legion at age 21 and they move in together in a flat in new rome. they have a dog (a king charles—oh, the irony...) leo insisted they name nacho. so they did.

they also have a parrot named deejay because the damn thing actually sings with the radio and leo finds that absolutely hilarious

frank just loves seeing him laugh, and it's so infectious that he just has to laugh, too

as i said, i hc frank with severe anxiety. it's clear that leo has depression, so they talk about their struggles and try to get through them together when therapy isn't enough

they're jus always there for each other, ya kno?

the first time they fight, frank sleeps on the couch that night, but neither of them actually get any sleep because they can't stand being apart and arguing. so the next morning, they just fall into each other's arms murmuring "sorry, sorry, i love you, i love you so much" and no matter how severe the arguments after that are, they never sleep apart

i think they adopt a son somewhere along the way. piper and shel have a daughter and don't want any more kids but her (they named her tara, which was what piper's grandpa tom would've suggested naming her had they not named her piper) so they suggest they name the lil guy jason, and after much deliberation, they do

because, did they want a daily reminder of who they'd lost? but eventually, they reasoned: we can name him jason, and he will live beyond sixteen. he will live a long, full life. we will let jason live a safe, happy life this time round, because he's ours

they also adopt a girl, whom they name emily hope

these are a complete mess with no particular order, they just came to me in a rush and a jumble. enjoy alsjskdjsmks

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riotinapublicstation · 3 months

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I put some of the greatest love songs into Google Translate and the results were... interesting.

To get one thing out of the way, not everyone likes Valentine's Day. Some people are broke, some people are alone and some people see it as a moneymaking marketing scheme to play on your emotions. Damn you, capitalism! Curse you for making me feel bad if I don't spend my hard-earned money on expensive flowers that will die five days after I purchase them!

There's one thing I like about Valentine's Day though. We get to dig out those cheesy, lovey-dovey hits. The rock ballads, the pining sonnets, oh the songs of affection and romance and... love. Ick.

I could've dived into what makes Dolly Parton's I Will Always Love You a good song, but does anyone actually care? We need cheering up. You shouldn't take love so seriously. So I didn't.

I put a handful of everyone's favourite love songs and threw them into the messy blender that is Google Translate. And while they were in there, they were massacred. Slaughtered. Murdered. I'm guilty of murder here, folks. The things I do for love? I digress.

‘God Only Knows’ by the Beach Boys

I put Brian Wilson's masterpiece through a translation of English to French, then to Spanish, to Japanese, to German, to Russian, to Malay, to Italian, to Japanese again and then back to English.

Shushing and psychopathic laughter ensues!

'She Loves You' by the Beatles

I dragged 'She Loves You' through to traditional Chinese, to Korean, to Vietnamese, then to simplified Chinese, then grounded it in Welsh. This was the final English result.

Still a sweet love song. Sounds a little antagonistic now though... YOU KNOW YOU SHOULD BE HAPPY, RIGHT?!

''Woman in Love' by Barbra Streisand

Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees famously penned this beautiful song for Barbra Streisand, and it became one of the most successful hits of her career. Let's see if it's still beautiful after suffering through Russian, to Polish, to Hungarian, to Ukrainian, to Mongolian, to Norwegian and finally, Dutch and English.

We think... holistically. Okay, Barbra.

'My Girl' by The Temptations

'My Girl' has been covered and re-recorded by lots of different artists over the years, from Otis Redding to The Rolling Stones; it is a timeless take on devotion and admiration. Ah who cares, let's translate it to Azerbaijani, to Lithuanian, to Romanian, to Estonian, to Punjabi, to Urdu, to Bengali and see what happens.

This was the best one. Some classic lines here. He ate the sun. Bye bye uncle! I'm not sure how the translation got so confused between family dynamics but I am very grateful.

'My Heart Will Go On' by Celine Dion

Titanic made millions at the box office, and this song is most associated with the perilous, doomed love story of Jack and Rose. And just like the ship, this song goes down very fast... translated from Bengali, to Urdu, to Arabic, to Sepedi, to Yoruba, to Samoan, to Kurdish, and finally to its native English...

I'm not sure why, but it sounds very argumentative. I opened the door again... IT'S IN MY HEART!! NO!!

'Make You Feel My Love' by Adele (Bob Dylan)

Adele's hit rendition of 'Make You Feel My Love' became a stepping stone to her almost endless curriculum vitae of modern love songs. She can thank the breezy, loving lyricism of Bob Dylan - the dying honesty of his words is what makes the song so emotional to listen to. I was curious but also worried to see how lost this one could get in translation, since the language is very transcendent and grounded. Anyway, here it is translated roughly seven times through Basque, Arabic, Azerbaijani, Portuguese, Romanian, Urdu and Hindi. Also bit of Yiddish for good measure.

I personally like the anticlimax at the end - I will, actually, do nothing.

'Your Song' by Elton John

Elton John's simple love song is in actuality one of his most popular, successful and recognisable pieces of music in his discography. So there must be some sort of redemption for these lyrics in Google Translate, right? RIGHT? Let's find out. I translated the song through around ten times, from Icelandic to Macedonian, Punjabi to Arabic, to both simplified and traditional Chinese, to Japanese, then to Arabic again, then to both forms of Chinese again.

I do like how it becomes less about the girl and more about living in the countryside. Maybe he was put off by the idea that she was stealing things from the street.

There we are! God, what a cesspool. What have I created?

Anyway, I hope everyone had a great Valentine's Day and got spoilt rotten. This was just for a bit of fun, though I spent an embarrassingly long amount of time trying to get Google to operate with non-sensical mish-mashes of the English language...

#valentines day

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thedandelion-writer · 3 years

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❝remembrance❞

Word count: 601

Summary: Even as time passes by, Zhongli remembers still

A/N: And this is my gift to @zhongli-cafe for the Genshin Writers valentine exchange! I wanted it to be out on the actual day, but sometimes life gives you lemons so I ended up finishing it literally one day before it's due. It's a little short but hope you like it Dex, have an amazing day!

P.s. Words in italics are some sort of flashback

He remembers that you were fond of the delicate white petals of the qingxin flower, how they would sometimes appear translucent in the sun.

"I will take a bouquet of them," Zhongli says.

"Right away, good sir!" the florist complies with a smile, probably knowing that he was getting them for a lover, much like most of her customers today were.

By the time the blooms are in Zhongli's hand, they are tied neatly with a ribbon. The ferrylady notes the expense solemnly.

Oh yes, he also remembers your love of sweets. You never let him forget, how you always took your tea with three spoonfuls of sugar, how desserts always made your eyes light up, wishing you would do that whenever you looked at him instead.

"A box of sugared slime," Zhongli says, before pointing to red silk packaging,"and place it in that, if you will."

And so another item is placed in his possession. Again, the ferrylady notes the expense, her expression unreadable so as to spare him of her pity.

Zhongli walks down the streets, cradling the gifts that he intends to give you. But there was one more. He remembers how partial you were to the scent of silk flowers.

"Don't they smell lovely, dearest?" you bent over a small cluster of the fragrant red blossoms and inhaled deeply, a smile forming on your face.

"That they do."

"Should I bring some silk flower incense for your rite of descension this year? Or would you prefer something else?"

Morax sets aside the spear he was sharpening to stand by his lover's side. He plucked a single one from the ground, slipping it behind your ear with a gentleness that was nonexistent the first time you met him.

"I would love anything you bring me."

His feet take him away from Liyue harbor and into a place he has not visited in a little too long.

But this particular day, he decides, was perfect.

Zhongli comes into the midst of a clearing, ringed by trees. In the middle, stood a headstone, illuminated by a band of sunlight. No matter how much time has passed, he still finds a twinge of that deep grief and loss he once felt. Not that he minds. Zhongli had come to love you knowing that his soul would outlive yours, as Guizhong warned him so.

The love story of a god and a mortal comes to a one-sided end, but he does not regret even a single thing. As his life lasts longer than yours, his love does too.

Laying the gifts he previously bought down, he begins to tidy up the grave. Not a lot of people knew of where you lay, so Zhongli was the sole person taking care of it. He preferred it anyway.

First the flowers, then the box of confectionary. Lastly, he lights up the incense, permeating the surroundings with your favourite fragrance. Satisfied with his handiwork, Zhongli kneels and presses his forehead to the cool stone.

This would be the last time he would visit you.

"When I die, mourn me for a few hundred years and then, I want you to promise me Morax, that you will forget me and move on."

Zhongli remembers this. And even though, if it were up to him, he would cling onto the memory of you for the rest of his existence, he will fulfill your wishes. Not as a contract, but as a promise.

"Happy Valentines Day, my love," he stands, giving himself one last opportunity to long for you. "I wish you happiness wherever you may be."

*I lightly took inspiration for this piece from the Chinese practice of 清明节 or qīng míng jié. It is basically when people come to clean up tombs of deceased loved ones to offer incense, food, etc and pray. But in the context of this fic, there is no religious purpose or anything like that (it's not even an accurate representation lol). Some in my family practice it and I just thought it'd add a good angst element ^^

**Valentines day may not exist in Teyvat but oh well

#genshin impact #genshin impact imagines #genshin impact x reader #zhongli x reader #zhongli #zhongli imagine #zhongli genshin impact x reader #morax #morax x reader #exchange gift :3 #Lynn writes

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scapegoatperry · 2 years

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Welcome to Haddonfield

Chapter 2: Tiffany and Jason (slasher coffee shop au)

A/N: This chapter is probably shorter, but I wanted to show a little more of Tiff and Jason’s dynamic with the reader (maybe tiff more so than jase but don't worry we'll see more of him!). So, sorry no Mikey in here ://. But he'll be there in the next chapter that should be out tomorrow since I'm almost done with it. This chapter gives a little more insight on the reader’s outlook on romantic relationships. Which, yes the reader has gone through some traumatizing things both while growing up and during their young adult years. But I want you all to know they have and are going to therapy and somewhere in the future it will be mentioned that they take medication for their mental illnesses. Also I personally hc Tiffany as half chinese, since Jennifer Tilly is and I dunno, I just thought it’d be cool to add that. Friendly reminder I also hc Tiffany is a demiwoman who uses she/they pronouns, while Jason is a demiman who uses he/him pronouns (and he doesn't wear a mask but still has his deformity, he's just more confident in here). Pumpkin is afab while using they/them pronouns, again they are indifferent about gender. Pumpkin is also short. How short is really up to y’all. Anyway enjoy!

Characters in the chapter: Tiffany Valentine, Jason Voorhees, and Pumpkin (aka the reader)

WARNINGS: Cursing, perverted jokes from Tiff and the reader, a small panic attack of some sorts from the reader, and mentions of toxic/abusive relationships (not necessarily just romantic relationships). Maybe some bad grammar and spelling.

“Sooo, how was your first day at work, sugar?” Tiffany asked once she got settled on the couch, wrapping an arm around you. Jason was still at work for thirty five minutes and had let you and the blonde demiwoman know to go ahead and start Kitchen Nightmares without him. You shifted a bit looking up at your best friend, answering their question

“It was great, actually. I only messed up on two orders,” Tiff gave you a big smile, letting you know she was proud of you, before continuing, “But, uh, it was a little strange this morning. You remember Angel right? The girl with curly blonde hair? The one who picked me up on my first day of training?”

“Yeah! I remember that cutie. She giving you trouble all of a sudden?” They tipped their head to the side, with a peculiar look on her face, no longer paying attention to the tv in front of the both of you. “Oh! No, no, no,” You shook your head comically fast. “Her older brother came in. And no he didn’t do anything to me either, didn’t even say anything actually. Well verbally anyway. But the way that he was acting, it’s like he was expecting me to run away screaming or some shit like that.”

You couldn’t help but find it odd. Was he usually standoffish with people? You couldn’t wrap your head around how Angel acted before and after the whole thing, seemingly shocked by how you both were with each other, whatever that really meant on Michael’s end. You found it hard to believe someone would treat the behemoth man any differently than any other customer just because he preferred Tommy making his scone and his sister making his coffee and because he used sign language over verbally speaking. It really couldn’t be because of how he looks, because nearly everyone who works there had a style similar to his, including yourself (though your style was all over the place, you didn’t always dress like that). While Tiffany was mulling over your words, you added, “I don’t know. Maybe some people are freaked out by his height, on top of looking like a scarier, younger version of Danny Carey? And he’s taller than Jase by a good, what? Four inches, I think?” That caught the demiwoman’s attention.

“He’s 6 fucking 9?!” She screeched, making you wince. You love Tiff but damn that hurt your ears. “Without the boots he was wearing? I’m assuming, yeah. I’m shocked his head didn’t hit any of the decorations in the damn place,” you couldn’t help but joke.

You remembered him ducking down when he left the cafe. It was ridiculously adorable. “Holy shit- isn’t Angel like, around your height? How the hell did their mother give birth to him?” Sometimes they didn’t have much of a filter, which was both a blessing and a curse. You just shrugged in return. How the hell were you supposed to know? You were majoring in women's, gender, and sexuality studies, not biology. Promptly, the blonde pulled away from you, turning her whole body towards you, making you do the same for her. “What?”

“Don’t ‘what’ me,” The half-Chinese adult said, with a scoff. “You’re a kind person Pumpkin. After everything you’ve been through, you’ve still managed to retain your kindness to those that haven’t done you wrong. You’re probably the first colleague they’ve had in a long time that didn’t treat him like a freak.” Then she smiled slyly at you, carrying on, “And you’re a very attractive person. I mean, look at you, Pumpkin. You’re an absolute hottie. I saw what you were wearing before you left the house this morning. Probably made his heart beat a little faster that usual and made all that blood rush to his-”

“Mhmmm! Nope, no, not today satan, absolutely not today!” You shouted pulling yourself off the couch, walking away from her. “You’re done, you’re done-”

“I was kiddin’-”

“you can go on timeout. I’ll tell Jase you’re on timeout and we’ll watch Kitchen Nightmares without your perverted ass.” By the end of that, the both of you were laughing and headed to the kitchen since that’s where you started walking off too.

“So...What’s his name?” You groaned, Tiffany really wasn’t going to let up were they?

“I- girl, why do you care?”

“Because he’s the first person you seem to be interested in-”

“I am not interested in him like that. Anyway, Michael, doesn’t seem like he makes friends very easily, let alone finds it easy to find someone to date, so, you know,” you defended yourself against her teasing as you tossed your hands up in the air.

“Hmm, sounds like someone else I know. Except for the friend part, you’re really good at that.”

You gave the brown eyed beauty a weak glare. “Cute name though.” You couldn’t help but roll your eyes at her changing the subject to his name. But she was right, it did suit him. Knowing the taller woman wouldn’t let it go until you at least gave some sort of description of the man you relented, letting yourself at least indulge a little bit, “He’s got really pretty blue eyes. Like an icy blue, I think? It was a little hard to tell with him having long hair. Super pretty too, like, I really didn’t expect him to be that pretty.” You paused a bit admitting, “Kind of a shame he’s Angel’s brother, otherwise, I might’ve climbed him like a tree-” Tiffany instantly started screeching at your light lewd comment, grabbing onto you while you started laughing. You didn’t really date people, but you were no nun. You’ve had plenty of experience in the bedroom.

During this time, Jason had come home, unexpectedly early, and walked into the kitchen after hearing Tiff’s screeches and your laughter. He stood in the arch way of the kitchen, with a confused look on his cute face. The blonde told him almost instantly, “They’ve got a crush on one of their co-worker's brother-”

“Shut up, I don’t! He’s just cute to look at. I would never do that to Angel, I work with her for fuck’s sake. I haven’t seriously dated someone in years, let alone had a real crush on anyone! You both know it’s hard for me to even like anyone romantically.” Now her teasing was a little too much for you. Maybe you were being too sensitive, but the thought of even jumping into a relationship was making your head spin and made your stomach drop in a not so fun way. Especially with someone you didn’t fucking know. The giant, yet gentle demiman walked over to you, and set his hands on your shoulders softly just to get your attention as well as grounding you, before signing, “It’s okay, you don’t have to date anyone if you don’t want to, Pumpkin.”

“He’s right, I’m sorry, sugar. I won’t do that again, okay? I went too far with that.” They both knew why you nearly had a breakdown at that. Sure, you preferred being close friends with someone before dating them, but your very first relationship (if you could even call it that) was what made it a mandatory to be friends with someone first. Not that you would ever change that. Being in therapy since you were twenty-one helped you understand that wasn’t a bad thing, not one bit. And you’ve stuck to it even when others, not the two that you live with, told you it was a phase. You let out a heavy sigh, “Sorry, god. You would think I wouldn’t freak out even after six years since that happened...”

“You don’t ever need to apologize for that, Pumpkin. I should’ve known better than to poke at you like that for that long. It doesn’t matter if it was that long ago or not, what you went through was bad. It should’ve never happened, but it did and you’re still here with us to this day and that’s what matters.”

Tiffany leaned down a bit and gave you a kiss on the forehead, just as your guys’ mutual best friend mumbled out, “I love you two.” Just lighten up the mood and brought you both into a big hug. Which made you groan because both of them were squeezing so tightly. “Y’all are gonna kill me,” you managed to get out. Thankfully they both showed mercy and let go, chuckling at your dramatic behavior.

“Alright, let’s leave the big guy to make dinner. After all, he promised to make us burritos tonight.”

You forgot about that. The bald demiman even made breakfast that morning before you all went to work and mentioned making burritos as a celebration for your first day of work. Your mind went blank as he began to shoo you and Tiffany out of the kitchen, making her giggle, calling out to Jason as they walked to the living room with you, “I think they forgot about dinner tonight!” You didn’t miss the grumbling from the colossal chef in the other room, but knew it was just him messing around. Jason wasn’t one to get angry or even annoyed easily. The demiman was all around laid back when you and Tiff weren’t causing chaos. A smile graced your mouth as you unpaused the tv, watching Kitchen Nightmares with your best friend while the other cooked dinner for the three of you. Yeah, you had it pretty good.

#slasher coffee shop au #michael myers x reader #michael myers x you #rz!michael myers x reader #rz!michael myers x you #slashers #slasher x reader #slasher x you #I believe in Tiffany and Jason supremacy #Tiff and Jason would probably kill for pumpkin let's be honest #And once we get there mikey will be very well aware of that

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jokertrap-ran · 3 years

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(光与夜之恋 Light and Night) 遥夕灯会: Chinese Valentine’s Day 2021 Event! Nightlong Lantern Festival Translation (Qixi: CHARLIE)

“Happy Chinese Valentine's Day, my dear fiancée. I hope that we can go a step further next year and spend this romantic festival together as husband and wife.”

*Light and Night Master-list | Charlie’s Personal Master-list *Spoiler free: Translations will remain under cut *Join my Light & Night Discord (＾▽＾)~ ♪ *Event story tag will be #For Light and Memories

Lying at the end of the funfair was a lone garden. The bustling sounds of the crowd and festivities slowly died down, fading away; leaving only the lights of the lanterns and the elongated shadows they cast.

Charlie and I were both carrying piles of odd-looking plushies, stumbling as we went.

The small mountain of plushies blocked my view of the path before me. All I could do was come to a halt and shoot Charlie an aggrieved look.

MC: Who in their right mind would clear out the claw machine like that?

Charlie: It's all to fulfil your expectations, of course

MC: My expectations?

Beep beep!

His car keys gave two beeps before the boot of his car slowly opened. I promptly dumped all the plushies I carried into it.

With a hand braced against the door, Charlie watched me with utter seriousness.

Charlie: Based on my observations, I realized that you always changed targets and that you've gone for a round on every claw machine here.

MC: So?

Charlie: Which goes to show that you want to bag all the plushies.

Charlie: Very ambitious. You're not too shabby; I like people with ambition.

MC: I was just trying to gauge which one would be easier to nab…

MC: Also, you can literally buy all the machines here with the money you just spent.

I rubbed my sore shoulders. Charlie stood before me, the moonlight softly shining down on his shoulders.

There was even a small sheep plush, that was clutching his head, in the pocket of his coat.

Charlie: You want the claw machines too? I could, if you want.

Charlie stared at the boot of his car that was filled to the brim with plushies, seemingly giving the idea some serious thought.

MC: Charlie.

Charlie: Hm?

Hearing me call out to him, he turns around.

The sparse light coming from the lit lanterns made the surroundings appear especially tranquil; the winds that blew past us imbued with a nearly imperceptible fragrance.

MC: I have something to give you.

I gently placed a perfume sachet embroidered with a peacock pattern into Charlie’s hand.

His hand was very large, which stood in stark contrast with the small perfume sachet. All he had to do was to gently close his fist, and it’d be completely enveloped by his hand.

Charlie: This is… a gift?

His eyes widened as he stared incredulously at the small perfume sachet in his hand.

After a good long while, he finally snaps back to his senses. The smile playing at his lips grew even deeper.

Charlie: I knew you cared about me after all.

Charlie: Mint invigorates the spirit and mind, biond magnolia flowers dispel wind-cold, and black atractylodes rhizome helps invigorate the spleen.

MC: Aren't you a doctor specializing in western medicine? Why do you know all this…?

I softly muttered under my breath. Though, he seemed to really like the perfume sachet, flipping it back and forth over and over again a couple of times.

Charlie: You must have made this yourself.

MC: Ahem, no! I bought it off the street!

It's not like I hadn't given him a gift before, yet I couldn't help but to feel a smidge of embarrassment as the Chinese Valentine's Day draws closer to its end.

Charlie: Oh?

Charlie: So, is this merchant who's selling these perfumed sachets you?

Charlie edges closer, the red string attached to the perfume sachet wound around his index finger. He then released the small perfume sachet from his grasp, letting it dangle before me.

Charlie: If you really bought it off-handedly off the streets like that, then why is there my dearest fiancée's initials embroidered on it?

MC: Why are you asking so many questions!?

I pretended to attempt taking it back from him, but a jerk was all it took for Charlie to lift the perfume sachet higher out of reach. I tried jumping up to get it, but not only did I fail to even reach his sleeve, I even fell right into his arms.

Charlie: You've already given it to me, so why are you trying to take it back now?

Charlie: I know. Every stitch that went into this is filled with my fiancée's affections.

Charlie: Rest assured. I'll keep this on my person at all times. It's perfect to let others know that "this bachelor's already off the market".

He half entrapped me within his embrace, the faint herbal scent wrapping around me.

I don’t know just what sort of performance was going on down at the heart of the venue, which was just a distance away; but the rapid beat of the drums brought about a series of long-lasting cheering.

MC: Let's go then, Mr. "Bachelor".

I tugged him back into the crowds and fireworks, the familiar warmth spreading from his palm to the far depths of the moonlit night.

❖☆———————————★❖☆———————————★❖

“Only your agreement to marry me will meet the criteria of everything I want coming true.”

❖☆————— ⊹ For Light & Memories⊹ —————★❖ [Who will you gift your perfume sachet to?]

☆ Evan ☆ Osborn ☆ Sariel ★ Charlie ☆ Jesse

#光与夜之恋 #Light and Night #Otome #Translations #Tencent #萧逸 #Osborn #齐司礼 #Sariel #陆沉 #Evan #查理苏 #Charlie #夏鸣星 #Jesse #For Light and Memories #遥夕灯会 #Nightlong Lantern Festival #Qixi 2021

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qawsslate · 3 years

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newbies

another nct drabble, short story, one shot, scenario?

genre: fluff probs

tw: none

pairing: Renjun & reader

a/n: idk bro read at ur own risk, i used google translate for a thing but im hoping it makes sense in the context, feel free to interact :))

____

"Renjun-ah it’s fine. You, of all people, know how forgiving she is.”

“Ya! Haechan, don’t say it like that. Renjun-ah it looks really nice she’ll love it.”

Haechan and Jeno were gathered in Renjun and Jisung’s shared bedroom attempting to calm the nerves of the older Dream member. He had just finished a painting he had been working on for the last month in prepation for Valentine’s Day. He knew you weren’t expecting anything as in Korea, the traditional practice was for the girl in the relationship to give the guy chocolates, but neither of you were big on the specifics of things like that. You both shared the sentiment of holidays but were also practical in the ways you gave gifts to each other. Last Christmas, Renjun had given you a new winter coat since the one you’ve been using since your teenager years had begun to literally tear at the seam. You often brushed off his nagging of buying a new coat with protests of the coat still doing its job.

“Renjun, the coat is fine. I’m still perfectly warm”

“Y/n, I can see the thread that’s keeping the arm sleeve attached to the rest of it hanging off. I bet if I pull it the whole thing would fall apart. Here let me show you.”

He reached down and pretended to yank the thread which prompted you to gasp in amused disbelief.

“Ya! Don’t you dare! Did you really pull it off?”

You looked down at your arm trying to assess if in fact the fabric on your body was still a piece of wearable clothing.

He laughed and just embraced you in a hug.

He had followed up the new winter coat with a flower plushie you had commented that was cute a week ago in a shop, his favorite scented candle so you could be reminded of him when he was away on a schedule, a neck massager because he thought you spent too much time at your desk, an insulated bottle so you would drink more water and not coffee, a polaroid camera for the memories and random Chinese snacks you really liked. He was very practical yet considerate, and it made your heart swell. You almost cried thinking all of it was too much and he had to hold your face in is hands and make you look at him so he could tell you that you were worth it.

What you didn’t know that he also wanted to gift you with a necklace but second guessed himself too much to the point where he took the small box out of the pile of gifts only minutes before he gave you the heap of presents. Mark was the only member he told about the necklace beforehand but Renjun unfortunately had forgotten to inform his loveable hyung of his inaction, a problem that presented itself the morning after Christmas.

“Y/n! Merry-day-after-Christmas! How was Christmas with Renjunnie? Did you like the necklace?”

You, Mark, and Renjun had been sitting at the Dream dorm kitchen table eating leftovers from the small dinner Jaemin had made at 3am. Thankfully the rest of the boys were still asleep so the damage could still be contained. Renjun choked on the green tea he had been drinking but quickly recoverd.

“Neck massager hyung. The Korean word for neck massager is 목 마사지기. Ahhh, it’s because he’s a foreigner.”

Renjun laughed a little too forcibly and tried to signal to Mark as much as humanly possible without bursting a vein that the necklace gift was aborted. By some Christmas miracle, Mark had somehow picked up on the hint and quickly corrected himself. He even added a white lie to support the neck massager fib, quickly sputtering that he had helped Renjun pick out a neck massager with the recommnedations from his mom, his aunt, his grandmother, and his cousin who was some sort of professional massager. You answered honestly that you had yet to put it to use as you forgot to charge it last night. You weren’t sure if it was the happiness hangover or lack of sleep after Christmas Day that made you think Mark and Renjun were acting strange, but you became distracted from dwelling on their behavior as Haechan and Jisung came into the kitchen. The mood quickly shifted and Renjun felt like he could breathe for the first time in what felt like an hour. You had become preoccupied in helping Jisung follow a recipe on how to make American style pancakes and scolding Haechan for handing the gullible maknae wrong ingredients. After a few minutes Renjun had excused himself to check on Jaemin and Jeno, and Mark announced he had to use the bathroom. Once out of earshot from the mess in the kitchen Mark turned to Renjun,

“You didn’t give it to her?”

“No, hyung, honestly I got too scared. What if she didn’t want it? What if she thinks I’m going too far? What if it’s too serious all of a sudden?”

“Well, don’t you want to be serious with y/n?”

“Of course. More than anything. I just don’t know what I’m doing.”

“Renjunnie,” Mark placed his hands on his shoulders, “you are doing great. Do whatever feels right to you. But if you’re only doubting yourself I think it’s still a good idea to give her the necklace.”

Renjun still looked conflicted and mindlessly opened the door to Jaemin room then Jeno’s.

The four proceeded back to the suspiciously quiet kitchen to find Jisung sat at the table and Haechan and you making the rest of the pancakes. When Jaemin asked what happened, Haechan responded,

“We wanted to make sure you guys still had a place to live.”

The necklace matter had been dropped and about a month later all those repressed emotions Renjun had came back. It was two nights before Valentine’s Day and both just wanted a quiet evening. Renjun planned to cook a dinner at your apartment and the whole thing felt innocent until he thought about how you guys hadn’t even been officially together for more than a year. He suddenly felt the pressure, the implications, the underlying tone of something like giving you a piece of jewelry. His plan was to just give you a painting. He had carefully recreated the scene of the park where he first saw you. You had been pushing children on the swings. He had thought you were a babysitter of some sort until you waved to the kids goodbye and saw the nearby adults scoop them in their arms and walk away. Then he saw you swinging by yourself. He never revealed this to you during your first official encounter as he didn’t think it would be smooth to open up with, “I’ve been watching you swing by yourself at the children’s park.” He also hadn’t been initially sure if you were the same girl he had wistfully observed, but you had once planned a park date at your favorite spot.

“It’s actually quite near your dorm, we could walk there if you’re up to it? Sometimes I play with the kids. It’s gotten to the point where some of the mothers have recognized me.”

Renjun immediately knew you had been that girl he had observed in what felt like a lifetime ago. He knew that one day he would really have to treat Chenle to a meal for introducing you both. Renjun also knew if he had admitted this to Chenle now he would never let it go and it would somehow inflate the size of that kid’s head even more, but he added it to the list of things he loved about his younger member.

Renjun had carefully recreated the details from his memories of those days, paying particular attention to that coat you refused to give up on and he had just finished the painting when Haechan decided to burst into his room.

“Renjunnie! Have you ate? Let’s eat.”

Renjun had been so absorbed with his doubts that the sudden interruption almost made him fall off his chair. Renjun almost gets as easily startled as Jisung, but the magnitude of his reaction made Haechan take a step back and immediately set off his signature mischief.

“Ya, is the innocent and pure boy doing something naughty? You know you should really lock your doors Renjun-ah”

Renjun scrammbled to find something to cover the painting. His tidy desk space provided no aid and his next move was to flip the whole thing over deciding to deal with the consquences of the still wet paint later, but Haechan moved quickly and pulled Renjun’s arms up away from the canvas.

“Ya, what’s this?”

“Nothing. Heachan, please.”

Renjun sighed. He had no problem in any other situation to fight the boy who always tested his limits, but with the awkward sitting position he was in, Renjun knew that there was no logistically sound way to physically fight Haechan at the moment.

“Oh, it’s just another painting. Why were you so freaked out- YA! Is that y/n?!”

Haechan dropped Renjun’s arms, his first mistake, as Renjun took the opportunity to lunge towards the painting. Haechan proceeded to yank the back of the wooden chair -- his second mistake -- and he called out for reinforcements.

“JENO-AH!”

Jeno was not surprised that the bickering quickly took place, but was also concerned with the intensity of Haechan’s scream. Jeno regretfully entered the space of what would ultimately disrupt the otherwise peaceful morning and listened to the chorus of Renjun’s mild curses and death threats and Haechan’s shameless happy teasing although he was the one in the headlock.

“Ya, you two. Can we just go eat?”

“Jeno-ah, grab that. QUICKLY.”

Curiosity took over and Jeno obeyed. Renjun knew that although Jeno lacked in the desire of fighting members, he made up for with his physcial strengh. Renjun was quite aware that Jeno could quite literally pick him and Haechan up to stop the sqaubble. Renjun gave a frustrated sigh of defeat and sat back down at his desk while Jeno and Haechan sat on the nearby bed to fully observe the art piece.

“Is this y/n? It’s really good.”

“Our Renjunnie is growing up so fast. It’s cute to see you in love.”

The casualness of Haechan’s sentiment in dropping the L word set off alarms in Renjun’s brain but curiously not his heart. He quickly pushed off whatever deer in headlights reaction he showed and calmy took the painting back from Jeno. He decided to just tell the two that it was for Valentine’s Day and mumbled that he wasn’t sure if you were gonna like it.

"Renjun-ah it’s fine. You, of all people, know how forgiving she is.”

“Ya! Haechan, don’t say it like that. Renjun-ah it looks really nice she’ll love it.”

Haechan sensed it was the right time to get serious.

“Renjun-ah. Honestly. It’s a really good painting. She’ll love it. That girl loves everything you do.”

Jeno hummed in agreement.

“Injunnie, it will be okayyy.”

Jeno’s speciality in dorm-only aegyo gave Renjun comfort. It almost brought back a sense of normalcy in Renjun’s emotions. He was also grateful to Haechan although no matter how much the boy made it a sport to annoy him, he could still be mature when it counted. He thanked God that the necklace had been safely hidden in a drawer and considered the many ways the situation could have escalated if the two boys saw that the painting gift was not the main source of his anxiety.

Renjun thought it would be best to change the subject from his insecurities about his love life. Love, he thought, there was that word again.

---------------

hi i have a tendency to not end my fics well, lemme know what yall think

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dweetwise · 3 years

Text

have a semi-rushed riconti one shot because i couldn’t not write them for valentine’s day 💕

ship: ace x felix warnings: none word count: 4180

The problem with secret admirers

Holidays usually weren't something the survivors had the luxury of celebrating.

The occasional seasonal decorations in trials along with some ridiculous, thematical outfits seemed more like a sign of their Eldritch captor's morbid sense of humor than evidence of the passing of time. But sadly, lacking calendars and all, it was the most accurate estimate they had.

So when the Entity plopped down some fireworks and talismans on the generators to proclaim the Chinese new year, it barely affected any of them.

Yui and Feng seemed more on edge than usual, the decorations crude imitations of the festivities they were used to back home. Adam had told the group about the year of the ox and the Chinese zodiac, the teacher donning a new hoodie he’d received for the occasion.

For Ace, the holiday meant nothing more than looting as many firecrackers as he could manage, along with making questionable “horny” jokes to the few killers that had received ox-themed outfits.

But in the midst of the survivors' celebration or lack thereof, they'd completely forgotten about another well-known February celebration.

When Ace returns from a successful trial and goes to stash yet another firecracker into his generous collection of items, he immediately notices something that doesn't belong.

Inside the trunk, on top of the organized chaos that is his pile of items and add-ons, lies a note.

Curiously unfolding the piece of paper, Ace makes out somewhat messy handwriting on a worn piece of paper.

'Your smile lights up the room'.

“Oh, ha ha, very funny,” Ace says, turning to face the small group of survivors by the campfire.

“Huh? What's up?” Steve perks up, others following suit and turning to watch the spectacle.

“Someone left me a little prank note,” Ace says, rolling his eyes and flicking the slip of paper over his shoulder.

“What?” Claudette says with a frown, immediately reaching for the discarded note.

“What does it say?” Cheryl asks curiously, coming up beside the botanist.

“'Your smile lights up the room,'” Claudette reads.

“Aww, that's adorable!” Kate exclaims. “A Valentine's day card!”

“The joke being that we're continually outdoors,” Ace explains. “Meaning my smile does jack shit.”

“Are you sure? Maybe they meant figuratively,” Claudette gently prods.

“Yes Claudy, I'm sure I'm not getting mystery love notes,” Ace snorts at the incredulous suggestion, before turning back to the others. “Come on, whose idea was it? Fess up!” he demands, looking over the group

When nobody makes a move to come clean, others also looking around in confusion, Ace eventually focuses his stare on Nea, Meg and Feng, the trio of troublemakers sitting together by the fire.

“The hell you looking at me for?” Nea cusses.

“That’s lame as fuck,” Meg agrees.

“I'm tempted to make one now just so you’ll see—” Feng starts.

“That's a great idea! We should all make Valentine's day cards for each other!” Kate suggest, missing the gamer's point entirely.

“Look, there's a drawing too!” Cheryl suddenly exclaims, pointing at the back of the mystery note still in Claudette’s hands.

Ace sighs and leans over to look, fully expecting a doodled caricature of himself or even a crude phallic sketch.

Instead, he finds a pretty good drawing of some sort of flower. It’s not perfect, but it looks like someone clearly put a lot of work into it.

“It's a clover,” Claudette informs, glancing up at Ace with a smile. “No doubt for luck, even if it doesn't have the iconic four leaves.”

“Uh. Maybe,” Ace says, a little taken aback at the information. Someone really went through a lot of effort just for a small prank.

“So? Who's it from?” Steve asks impatiently.

“It still doesn’t say, Steve,” Cheryl sighs in irritation.

“I mean, Jeff and Jane are the artists,” Quentin points out.

“Uh-huh, sure, Jeff would draw a flower card for Ace and not his botanist girlfriend,” Meg snorts, making Claudette duck her head bashfully.

“And Jane—" Steve starts, excitedly turning to the former talk show host.

“No,” Jane interrupts the teen. “I mean this in the nicest way possible, but hell no.”

“No offense taken, sweetheart,” Ace grins good-naturedly, the cheesy flirt making the woman grimace.

“What about Bill?” Nea suggests out of the blue.

“What the hell are you on, kid?” Bill snorts, and even Ace has to bite back a laugh over the thought of the gruff veteran writing love letters.

“Just trying to think of someone in his age range!” Nea protests.

“Well, did anyone see anything?” Quentin asks. “We can’t all have been in a trial when the note was placed.”

“I’ve been in like three trials today,” Feng complains.

“I don’t think any of us really keep track of people at the fire,” Kate says. “Anyone could have walked by and put it there.”

“Aww, so we’re not gonna know who it was?” Steve frowns.

“Maybe that’s for the best,” Jane says.

As the commotion seems to die down, Claudette hands back the note back to Ace.

“You should keep it. It seems you have a secret admirer, after all,” Claudette says, smiling.

“Guess it can’t hurt,” Ace says, reluctantly pocketing the card. He’s still not sure it's genuine, but is intrigued by the sudden turn of events nonetheless.

Surprisingly, it seems the kids aren’t quite ready to give up on finding out the culprit. Some time later, Ace sees Cheryl, Steve and Quentin huddle together by one of the tree stumps, Cheryl looking to be taking notes on a map.

“Did you ask the ones who just got back?” Cheryl asks.

“Yup! Steve says. “Jeff was mostly confused, and David laughed his ass off. Laurie said she hadn't seen anything weird before she got taken to the trial. And Tapp just looked like he'd lost all hope for humanity,” Steve summarizes.

“Sounds about right,” Quentin huffs.

“Okay, so we've ruled out us three, Laurie, Jeff, Claudette, Jane, Bill, Tapp and David,” Cheryl recaps.

“And Nance has Jonathan, and Felix has his girlfriend,” Steve reminds.

“We should definitely rule out Nea too, since she’s way younger than him,” Quentin says. “Meg and Feng too, I guess."

“You're right, they always bully Ace too,” Steve casually remarks.

Ace rolls his eyes behind his shades and keeps shuffling his cards, not understanding why the group is so hell bent on talking about him like he’s not even there.

“Oh, and Yui,” Cheryl says.

“Good point,” Quentin says.

“Huh? Why?” Steve asks, confused.

“She, uh…” Cheryl falters. “Girl talk. I know it's not her.”

“Okay!” Steve beams.

And that pretty much sums up Ace's expectations for their little operation to succeed. If Steve somehow still hasn't figured out that the Japanese woman is solely interested in other women, Ace doesn’t have much trust in his detective work.

“Kate?” Cheryl suggests.

“She’s making Valentine’s cards for all of us as we speak,” Quentin snorts. “I don’t think she’d play favorites.”

“What about Dwight?” Steve suggests.

“Well… it’s definitely awkward and weird enough to fit his MO,” Cheryl considers.

“I thought he was into Jake?” Quentin says.

And that’s about the time Ace tunes out and goes to bug Tapp to play cards with him, hoping the detective will be happy to pretend like this entire thing never happened.

Ace doesn’t know how long it is before he’s finally taken to a trial, but it feels like an eternity. The atmosphere around camp is awkward as people trickle in and out from trials and someone always feels the need to point out he was on the receiving end of an anonymous person’s affection. The reactions, unsurprisingly, range from awkward confusion to straight up laughter.

So when the fog finally surrounds Ace, he actually welcomes it. The familiar sight of the Autohaven gas station is enough to take his mind off the teasing back at camp, at least momentarily.

But another problem presents itself right as he rounds a corner of scrap and finds Élodie on a generator—

“Hey, come here often?” Ace jokes, crouching down next to the machine to get to work.

—And the woman immediately gets up to leave.

“It wasn’t me, so don’t get any ideas,” Élodie scowls in his direction.

“Huh? I didn’t—” Ace tries to explain, but she’s already taking off in a sprint, and Ace thinks he hears her mutter “creep”.

Ace sighs and barely resists the urge to bash his face against the generator in frustration. This day just keeps getting better.

To Ace’s utter delight—that is to say, absolute annoyance—his mystery admirer becomes the biggest source of entertainment for the survivors. He doesn’t mind playing along for the first few jabs at his expense, thinking the others will surely get bored after just a few hours.

They don’t.

Most of the group still seem determined to figure out the person behind the note, others are content to gossip and joke about the possibilities, and some go as far as to blame Ace for intentionally stirring up drama. His not-so-subtle suggestions to let it go are shrugged off, and after a few days, Ace resigns himself to his fate and figures the sooner he lets the whole thing sort itself out, the better.

It doesn’t mean he’s happy about it.

To add insult to injury, even the killers seem to have a sudden hard-on for him, focusing Ace with single-minded determination every chance they get.

It's only a few days later, when the Pig kneels down Ace's prone form to place a trap on his head, that he realizes why.

“There you go, lover boy,” the woman's voice sounds mocking despite being muffled by her mask.

“Wah?” Ace asks, the device attached to his jaw making it hard to speak.

“I heard someone has a little admirer,” the Pig says. “I figured it warrants some special treatment.”

The word is accentuated by throwing Ace up on a hook, and the gambler's following scream is as much from pain as it is from frustration.

When Ace gets back to the campfire after having his head popped by the killer’s trap, he sits down on a log furthest from the group, hoping to get a breather—

“Hey, look who it is!” Ash immediately interrupts his moment of solitude, sitting down uninvited next to Ace. “How you doing, champ?” Ash grins, elbowing him in the side.

“What do you want?” Ace asks, feeling much more irritable than usual because of the constant teasing.

“I mean…” Ash says, before looking around and lowering his voice. “Have you figured out who it is?”

Ace rolls his eyes and resists the urge to slap the man with his own prosthetic hand.

“Come on, you can tell me!” Ash grins in a very suspicious way.

“If I find out, you’ll be the first to know. Trust me,” Ace whispers, lying out of his ass.

“That’s what I’m talking about!” Ash laughs, way louder than necessary. “I’m happy for you; at least someone around here will be getting laid!”

Half of the camp erupts into snickers and the other half turns to glare at Ace, notifying him that their conversation was definitely loud enough to overhear.

“Not in front of the children!” Jane sneers, like Ace enjoys having his sex life publicly broadcasted.

“Oh, would you look at that!” Ace quips with fake cheer as fog starts creeping up his legs, thankful for the Entity’s timing even though he barely got back to the campfire. “Time for another trial!”

When the fog clears from around him, Ace is in the killer shack in Red Forest with Cheryl and Felix right beside him.

“I'm gonna go find Zarina,” Cheryl whispers to Ace, informing him of who their last teammate is.

“Sure,” Ace says, knowing it’s good to split up, as Felix has already started repairs on the generator in the shack—

“I need to privately ask her about the note!” Cheryl beams and is sprinting away before Ace can reply.

Which is just as well, because he might have said a few choice words to the kid through his annoyance. Thankfully, he's left with Felix, one of the few people who have treated Ace normally throughout this entire thing.

“Fuck this,” Ace curses, joining the handsome German on the generator. Felix glances up but doesn't ask, and Ace appreciates being given the space to rant. “This is the worst thing that's ever happened!”

“The note?" Felix asks.

“What else? It seems it's all anyone ever talks about!” Ace rages, throwing one of his hands up in frustration and nearly causing the machine to explode. “I swear, this is worse than middle school,” Ace huffs. “I have girls gossiping, kids pestering and killers bullying me. And for what? A shitty piece of paper!”

Damn, it feels good to get this out. Ace doubts Felix cares, but it's nice to get to vent to someone he knows won't make the situation worse.

“Whoever left the note must be an idiot,” Felix comments bluntly, and it gives Ace pause.

Sure, Ace is frustrated, but he's still a little sentimental over the note and cute gesture behind it. Regardless, he shouldn’t be surprised that the no-nonsense architect would find the notion ridiculous.

“I'm just so done with it,” Ace sighs. “At this point, I'd take any explanation. Even an 'oops, wrong trunk, it was never meant for you'. Sure, I like being in the spotlight, but this is getting unbearable.”

Felix doesn't say anything, only keeps working away; probably embarrassed being forced to discuss Ace's (lack of) love life.

“I—” Felix starts after an awkward silence.

“Shit, I'm sorry,” Ace interrupts with a chuckle, not wanting the German to be any more uncomfortable than he already clearly is. “Didn't mean to talk about ear off about this stuff. Let's get this gen done, huh?”

Felix immediately seems relieved, and Ace jumps at the chance to change topics.

“You ever been to China?” Ace asks, nodding at the firework decoration on top of their generator.

As they chat about one of Felix's business trips to Shanghai, Ace is simultaneously glad for a distraction from his Valentine's fiasco and melancholy about their shallow friendship.

Maybe he'd take this whole thing more seriously if there was any possibility it would actually lead to something with the one person he's even remotely interested in. If Ace was in his prime, he'd probably have made a move on Felix months ago, girlfriend and heterosexuality be damned. Young and reckless Ace wouldn't have cared, happily flirting his ass off.

Meanwhile, old and slightly less reckless Ace has to settle for shitty jokes and sneaking glances at Felix.

When the Ghostface finally makes an appearance during their second generator and proceeds to chase and tunnel Ace to death despite the others' best efforts to save him, Ace isn’t even surprised anymore.

“I'm starting to wonder if the note is even legit,” Quentin says one day.

“How come?” Kate asks, cocking her head.

“Don't you think Ace's secret admirer would have come clean by now?" Quentin prods.

“Maybe it was just the Entity messing with us?” Laurie suggests.

“If it was a prank from someone, I’m kinda proud of them for pulling it off,” Nea says. “Especially for this long!”

“I think it’s mean,” Claudette says. “They’ve allowed this to go on for way too long. Just look at poor Ace!”

Everyone turns to collectively look at Ace, who is just trying to play some goddamn solitaire in peace while the rest, again, seem content to talk about him like he’s not even there.

“He looks the same as always,” Meg snorts.

“He’s been tunneled to death the last then trials in a row,” Laurie scolds.

“I’m fine,” Ace insists.

“I think his secret fan is just shy!” Kate continues and sparks another debate, oblivious to Ace’s annoyance.

When Ace gets back from yet another unsuccessful trial and sees a group of gossiping people and a grinning Nea, he groans in exasperation.

Before anyone can bring up Ace’s least favorite subject, Felix butts in.

“Ace,” Felix addresses, coming up beside the group. “Do you have time to teach me that perk you used the other trial? With the longer aura-reading?”

“You want… one of my perks?” Ace asks, surprised.

Felix has always seemed more altruistic than others, and it’s no secret Ace's perks were only used by… Well, Ace.

“Um, yes. If it’s not a bother,” Felix says, discreetly glancing at the group of gossip-hungry survivors waiting to attack Ace’s misery.

And it dawns on Ace that Felix is giving him a distraction to slip away.

“Oh, of course!” Ace grins. “Right this way!”

As soon as they’re out of earshot from the campfire, Ace starts prattling away.

“Thanks for covering for me!” Ace beams. “I thought they’d have gotten bored by now—"

“It was me,” Felix interrupts grimly, making Ace pipe down and turn to look at him.

“Uh… come again?” Ace asks, confused.

“I did it. I wrote the note,” Felix confesses, looking at Ace in determination.

“What? Why?” Ace asks, incredulous. When Felix's bravado falters, he keeps going. “Look, you don't have to cover for whoever it was,” Ace sighs. “I don’t blame you for wanting this entire thing to be over—"

“I'm serious,” Felix says. “I've been lying for way too long. I should have come clean before, but I was too much of a coward.”

Alright, what the actual fuck? Why would Felix, of all people, have sent Ace a love note?

While he’s gaping stupidly, Felix continues:

“Claudette was right, it’s my fault for letting this go on for so long. I’m sorry.”

“But… your girlfriend—” Ace starts, struggling to wrap his head around the whole thing.

“Will hopefully move on once she realizes I'm not coming back,” Felix says. “I've started to accept that I'm not getting out of here.”

“Well, that sounds cheerful,” Ace comments.

“Sheiße, I didn't mean it like that,” Felix winces. “I just… thought I'd do things differently this time. Since I never had the courage to, in my old life.”

“So… where do I come into the picture?” Ace asks, skeptical.

“I…” Felix says, wringing his hands in a nervous gesture. “Wanted to see how you would react to the note. It was stupid.”

“Huh? How come?”

“I caused you nothing but harm,” Felix sighs. “First you thought I was mocking you, then the others kept bothering you, and even the killers were giving you a hard time. I'm sorry, I should never have done it.”

“No, I mean—” Ace flounders for an explanation. Sure, he'd been annoyed, but none of the things that happened were Felix’s fault. “Why give something like that to me?”

“Isn't it obvious?” Felix says, scratching at his neck while averting his eyes. “I admit I haven't celebrated Valentine's day much, but I assumed…” he trails off.

What? Felix was seriously trying to test the waters of… getting together with Ace?

It slowly starts to make sense. Felix’s strange behavior. The messy handwriting on the note, probably from Felix’s nerves. The surprising artistic talent of the sketch, after a lifetime of architectural drawings.

“Well, this is unexpected,” Ace says with a smirk, not able to keep the cockiness from seeping into his voice at the knowledge that Felix, somehow, seems to be interested in him.

“Sorry—”

“I said unexpected, not unwelcome,” Ace interrupts.

And then gets to watch the realization slowly dawn on Felix, the perpetual worried frown on the other’s face smoothing out as his eyes widen in hope.

“You don't mind?” Felix asks.

“Let's just say I'm surprised you haven't caught me looking,” Ace grins. “I never expected someone as handsome as you to return the attention,” he can't resist flirting.

“Ähm, well, I…” Felix flusters from the compliment, looking at the ground. “Am not very good at this.”

“I wouldn’t say that,” Ace says.

Then, he reaches into his breast pocket, pulling out the infamous note he’s kept on him this entire time. Felix’s gaze follows his movement as Ace carefully unfolds the paper, crumpled and smudged from having been with him trial after trial.

“I thought you threw it away,” Felix says quietly, eyes wide in awe.

“You don’t just throw away a good luck charm,” Ace chastises playfully, pointedly brushing his thumb over the clover drawing. “Especially not one that’s the nicest thing anyone’s done for me in a long time.”

Ace bites his tongue to stop prevent more mushy sentiments from slipping out. Felix is still staring way too intently and not saying a word, so Ace clears his throat self-consciously tucks the note safely back into his pocket.

“I can’t believe you kept it,” Felix finally says, an adorable smile on his lips as he meets Ace’s eyes.

“Well, seeing as we’ve now established that we’re both sentimental saps…” Ace starts with a smirk, stepping closer to Felix to test the waters. “I have a question.”

“Oh, umh… Yes?” Felix says, straightening his back but still seeming nervous.

It's adorable, and Ace wants to kick himself for not noticing anything sooner. Still, there's no time like the present.

“Be my valentine?” Ace asks with a grin.

Felix's posture instantly relaxes, and the smile is back on his face.

“I'd love to,” Felix says.

Ace’s grin widens until he feels like it’ll be permanently etched onto his face. This is a much better outcome than he ever expected when he found an unassuming note with his items.

“So, ehm…” Felix starts after they’ve been staring at each other for a beat too long, snapping Ace out of it. “Do you… should we…?” Felix falters, nervously brushing a stray lock from his face.

“Wanna find a place to sit down and chat?” Ace suggests, not feeling any need to rush things now that he knows where they stand with each other. “I don’t know about you, but I could use a break from the others.”

“Me too,” Felix says, seeming relieved. “I admit I’m not looking forward to what the others will say about this.”

“Fuck em!” Ace says. “They’ve had their fun, I’m not gonna let them put you through the same shit as they did me. We don’t even have to tell them.”

“No, I want to,” Felix insists. “If I have to hear one more rude joke about you from Feng…” Felix’s mouth pinches into a thin line.

“Aww, babe,” Ace teases, the pet name slipping out before he can stop it. “You don’t have to defend my honor.”

“I do, and I will,” Felix says with surprising determination.

“Well, in that case, I won’t stop you,” Ace grins.

“Good,” Felix says with a smug little smirk.

And the sudden assertiveness makes heat creep up Ace’s neck, quickly starting to regret his suggestion to take things slow.

“I, uh, I think I saw a pretty cozy clearing not far from here,” Ace says, eager to get the chance to get to know more about his companion.

“Lead the way,” Felix agrees.

They end up sitting next to each other under the stars and talking for what has to be hours, but goes by in the blink of an eye. No longer having to filter himself and keep their conversation casual is a much-needed break from the past few days, and the smile never once leaves Ace’s face.

Talking to Felix makes the feelings Ace has tried so hard to ignore come back full force, reminding him of why the man caught his eye in the first place. Sure, Felix is still more attractive than anyone has the right to be, but he’s also insanely smart and surprisingly witty past the initial anxious exterior. The way he smiles and gives his undivided attention even when Ace talks about silly, insignificant things not only makes Ace forget all about his recent frustrations, but also takes his mind away from the strange world surrounding them.

And when Felix eventually scoots even closer and looks at Ace with nothing but fondness in his eyes, Ace has no trouble throwing his initial hesitance out of the window and going in for a kiss.

It’s not earth-shattering or particularly intense, it’s just really, really nice and makes Ace’s heart do stupid leaps in his chest. It’s been so long since he even kissed anyone, and getting to smooch the person he’s been secretly pining over for months and have said person eagerly return the kiss?

“Why the hell haven’t we done this sooner?” Ace voices his thought when he pulls away from the gentle kiss, making Felix huff a quiet laugh into their shared breathing space.

“I should have just signed the note,” Felix says.

“Good thing you can make it up to me now, Valentine,” Ace grins.

Felix chuckles warmly and a callused hand comes up to gently cup Ace’s cheek before tilting his head up into another kiss.

And even though Ace isn’t normally one for holiday celebrations, he’s looking forward to spending many more with Felix by his side.

#riconti #dbd fanfic #ace visconti #felix richter #dweetwrites #dbd #dead by daylight

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ramblings-of-a-mad-cat · 3 years

Note

Discord was discussing what flowers should be in the Enchanted Kiss bouquet depending on love interest, and regarding Merula, I stumbled upon what is called "tyrant king flower" in Chinese (Google 霸王花; and yes, it shares etymology with T rex. in Chinese), which is slang for a tough/domineering woman, and can refer to both a beautiful white cactus blossom...or Rafflesia, the infamous corpse flower. People also suggested crocus for Andre, and Strelitzia (bird of paradise flower) for Talbott.

You know, it would have been such a little thing, but I would have adored that. I went back and watched the different sets of footage, assuming that the bouquet would be wrapped in different colors, at least. But nope. It wasn’t. Between that and the Love Interests not having their own outfits this time...really feels like this Quest was rushed. And it...didn’t have to be? At all? The amount of time between Valentines Day II and Enchanted Kiss was rather short. They could have worked on this quest more and released it later, like what they did with Festival Fun. Jam City, if you’re listening...choosing speedy releases over high quality content is what kills franchises. Take it from someone still aboard the sinking ship that is Pokemon. Damn, just thinking about this is making me imagine different types of flowers for the different characters, and I love that.

Holy heck, I don’t even have to look up the Tyrant King flower to know that it’s perfect for Merula. That name tells you everything you need to know. But I’m checking it out now and I love it. The T-Rex very much suits Merula’s hard-headed and aggressive personality, yet also her inability to grasp things (heheh.) Which is doubly funny because she probably has absolutely no idea what a T-Rex even is. Now where did I put those head-canons about muggle-borns having Dinosaur Patronuses....Oh damn, the fact that it has a dual meaning, referencing her duality (All of my followers, finish your drinks.) between her tough and domineering personality, her notorious connection to death and the Dark Arts...versus her more beautiful side...but even that is in the shape of a cactus. Prickly on the outside as a defense mechanism, but ultimately sweet on the inside. God, she is such a cactus. I am so happy.

Okay, okay. The Crocus is absolutely gorgeous, and it is perfect for Andre. The Bird of Paradise is already one of my favorite flowers but I’m not sure it suits Andre. I feel like he would get something quieter like daffodils or orchids. I guess the simple reference to birds isn’t enough for me to think “Talbott.” and these flowers are so chaotic that I feel as though they would suit Tonks or Tulip better. I’ve mentioned before that Roses, specifically Black Roses, are the sigil of the Fawley Family. I’ve likewise mentioned before that Penny strikes me as a bluebell sort of gal. I dunno, I just feel like at some point, probably for Bill and Fleur, Penny was a Flower Girl (or was that Gabrielle...yeah, it might have been, come to think of it.) and whenever this happened she spread bluebells everywhere. Not sure why, it’s just...oh. I just realized why. Penny reminds me of another character who has a strong connection to bluebells. I shall not say what he’s from because I am embarrassed, but his name is Stepney.

#HPHM Discord #HPHM Headcanons #Merula Snyde #Talbott Winger #Andre Egwu #Tulip Karasu #Nymphadora Tonks #Penny Haywood #Harry Potter: Hogwarts Mystery

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wedreamedlove · 4 years

Text

Speech Quirks in MLQC

Archived Reddit post but this is the improved and updated version. I've linked the Reddit one though because @sharinluna made fantastic comments which I hadn't considered.

Spoilers include content up to Chapter 18 and some unreleased calls and cards. None of these are plot lines though, just snippets to support their speech quirks. Also, my eternal disclaimer is that I'm pulling from CN lines so don't be alarmed if the quotes differ.

BAI QI

The cutest habit this man has is defaulting into a sincere and solemn tone whenever he doesn't know how to respond to MC. He's so genuine it hurts. It's especially apparent when he goes along with weird topics.

Here are some examples of Bai Qi being an adorably confused puppy but trying to do his best. He always takes MC's concerns seriously:

[CN Soaked Heart SSR Misunderstanding Date] Context is they keep misunderstanding each other today. "Though I don't understand women's hearts, yours is the only one I don't want to get wrong. Can you give me some more time?"

[Lightbath SSR Tenderness] Context is after he excessively praises MC to her embarrassment. "I'm sorry, maybe it's because I didn't convey it well enough. But I just wanted to express all my thoughts out. Next time, I hope I can use a better way to express them to you."

[Summer Loving SSR Undo Fail Call] Context is MC having a terrible day and mis-sent her messages to Bai Qi. "If you don't want to go to work then you can take a day off. As for your hairline... how about..."

[Blaze Up SSR Age Rage Call] Bai Qi takes MC's opening extremely seriously, thinking something happened, before having a small laugh at her being called "auntie" by the boy. But he immediately regains his seriousness to talk it over with her.

It's not that Bai Qi doesn't get jokes, but his response to them tends to be serious too (which leads to unintentional killer lines). I think his humor tends towards more of the deadpan kind, like Li Zeyan (except Li Zeyan has some witty sharpness).

I've also seen people mention this phrase and I love it because it encapsulates him so well: Bai Qi is either shy and blushes or he goes straight for the kill LOL.

Here are some examples of lines that may sound sleazy or too flirty if they weren't delivered in such a straight and sincere manner LOL:

[Cold Shower R Refreshing Moments] When you pick the choice saying you thought he was going to upload a picture he goes: "Um... I can DM you." I've seen that he uses a smiley in English but it's not there in Chinese.

[Against the Light SR Sweet Bomb Moments] When you pick the choice saying that he's become cola-flavored he asks: "What do I normally taste like?"

[2018 Valentine's Text] I chose a conversation path which had me telling Bai Qi that he needs to get used to pet hair if he's going to raise a pet and that one day I'd like to raise one. He seriously promises to do his best to get used to pet hair and asks to raise one together.

[Grocery Moments] When you pick the choice that he can use his other hand to carry bags he answers simply: "My other hand is for holding yours, so I can't use it."

Honestly, the takeaway in Bai Qi's speech is the unconditional support and love he gives to MC. He never questions her feelings about things, and oftentimes vehemently objects to her thinking she's bothering him or that her problems are trivial or silly.

He wants to hear about her happy news, her sad news, and everything about her. (I joke that Bai Qi is the perfect fit for the meme where it's like "Why are you crying?" "Oh, it's just these onions" "What the hell did you say to my girlfriend!?").

He always gives a heads up before he acts, even though he generally tends to be moving already. Like going to pick up MC in the rain or at any other location.

I wouldn't be surprised if some of this came from his family life. Through his Rumors and Secrets and [Seize SSR Sad Thoughts Call] you can get an idea that his mother didn't have any standing with his father, often got cut off, and nothing she wanted or felt mattered.

Even though Bai Qi was young at that time it probably left a mark on him because he never does that with MC; he lets her express herself before he brings up any of his feelings. Her feelings are always valid, but he does tend to be a proactive fixer and provides solutions if he can (much like Li Zeyan). Bai Qi will try to solve MC's problems, but I'm sure if she just wanted to rant then he'll gladly listen (ex. [Blaze Up SSR Age Rage Call]).

One other notable thing is that, in Asian cultures, social harmony is very important and that's why there's a culture around speaking indirectly and preserving the other person's dignity.

So Bai Qi's indifference and ability to cut straight to the point probably doesn't stand out that much in the West but it's actually a bit shocking and impactful in Chinese. Especially because he doesn't shy away from expressing his feelings. He might stutter, cough, clear his throat, and be all embarrassed but then he just delivers monologues of blunt emotion (ex. [Love Of My Life SSR Goodnight Wish & Wish Calls]).

I find that Bai Qi and Li Zeyan are the most stereotypical types of masculinity among the four men.

ZHOU QILUO

As always, I need to thank my Luoluo-loving friend for the discussion here because I always have the least thoughts on him. Oops.

I don't think I'd be wrong in saying he has the most range among all the men. He gets to play with a pouting baby voice, his acting hero voice, his KEY voice, his Helios voice, and then his normal voice.

He has a harder speech habit to pin down because of this massive range, but I think you can catch how he leans into a sly or teasing tone. He's very quick with comebacks and jokes and I'd say he's the first to establish an inside joke with MC (both being each other's superheroes).

He and MC have a relationship where they're both building each other up. If Bai Qi provides unconditional support and acceptance then Zhou Qiluo is all about cheering her on whenever possible.

It's also interesting to point out that even though he's so emotive on the outside, when things are serious he goes deadly quiet and calm. You can see that in Chapter 8, 14, and his Helios persona in Chapter 17. They say watch out for the quiet ones, but more like watch out for the people who use their jokes and loudness to hide their quiet intensity.

I'm not sure how clear this came across in English but Luoluo notably repeats himself on several occasions in Chinese. It's sad because it's like he's reassuring the person he's talking to and himself at the same time.

[Main Story 14-20] "It'll be okay, it'll definitely be okay [...] You'll be okay."

[Main Story 14-20] "Miss Chips, wait for me... will you wait for me?"

I've also noticed that, even though he tries to be as genuine as possible, he's actually not as emotionally open as someone like Bai Qi. Luoluo tends to bring up his own emotions in a third-person or hypothetical perspective. For example:

[Call after Main Story 11-8: Important Decision] Luoluo calls and talks around the subject of an important decision he needs to make (aka. turning into Helios) and whether or not MC would be able to accept him if he changed completely into another person.

[CN ASMR Bear Cub's Troubles] He tells a story about a number of bears doing things and they're clearly supposed to represent him but he never admits that either.

We're about to hear much more from Helios but, as a start, he's extremely curt. Luoluo is definitely pulling an opposite here with his speech style, but it's neat how you can hear tones of Zhou Qiluo throughout too.

See, there's these things called modal particles in Chinese that you stick on the end of your sentences to give them meaning, emphasize meaning, strengthen meaning, or soften the meaning and tone.

Luoluo has the habit of using one 啊 (ah) which can have all these sort of meanings and other ones you just sort of pick up on:

[attached to the end of a sentence to indicate admiration]

[attached to the end of a sentence to show approval or self-protectiveness or to urge or enjoin]

[attached to the end of a sentence to indicate doubt]

[sign of pause in the middle of a sentence to draw attention to what one is going to say next]

[attached to the end of each item enumerated]

In Luoluo's case it makes his sentences sound more excited and younger and goes really well with his bright atmosphere. However, when he's Helios, this modal particle is dropped completely. Helios is flat, blunt, and basically pulling a Li Zeyan LOL.

XU MO

I think I've talked way too much about how Xu Mo is a wordsmith LOL but I'm always impressed by how he can corner MC into accepting his invitations without it being creepy. But I suppose this is a point of contention due to localization decisions and voice direction.

Putting that aside, it has to be noted that Xu Mo asks for a lot of permission. His speech style is designed to get you to lower your guard as much as possible, which I've touched on in my wordsmith post.

Again, returning to modal particles, Xu Mo has ones that basically gives all his sentences a "May I?" "Could I?" "Would you...?" style.

[Sound of Silence SSR The Little Prince Call] "Would you like to hear what I have to say?"

[Call after Main Story 3-1: Movie Invitation] "Then, would this lady be willing to watch Manhattan with me this Sunday?"

[CN Archery Date] "May I ask this lady here for some assistance?"

To be more specific, he uses a lot of 吧 (ba) which has these sort of meanings (the first one especially):

[a particle used at the end of the sentence to indicate discussion, suggestion, request, or instruction]

[an indication of agreement or approval at the end of the sentence]

[an indication of doubt or guess at the end of the sentence]

[an indication of uncertainty in the sentence]

[it can express a pause, tone of assumption, difficulty in making a choice, or dilemma in the sentence]

You can imagine how much this softens his sentences right? It's why he's so good at sounding disarming LOL and then you walk away and take 5 seconds to realize he said something alarming and/or got you to accept a date.

On another note, much like Bai Qi, Xu Mo quietly accepts all of MC's feelings and doubts. But he's much more of a natural at gently refuting her points and wording things in a way that helps her mature slowly (a big theme with him).

Compared to the others, he checks more often on whether MC wants to listen to his opinion before he gives it. Or, he supports his view from an empirical standpoint (like how he's been the adviser to Miracle Finder pretty much at the beginning and seen her growth from there).

Because of how his speech habit is designed to be soft when he's Xu Mo, it makes his Ares persona really interesting. He drops his softeners and speaks in a more clipped tone but he still maintains his politeness.

At the news conference in Chapter 16 you can hear how he uses starts using rhetoric to push the MC around (as a mix between Ares and cold Xu Mo). He actively challenges her opinions, compared to before when he was just providing alternative (and supportive) views. The news conference is actually amazing because in Chinese they both become EXCESSIVELY polite to demonstrate this new distance between them after Chapter 13.

CRIES WHENEVER I THINK ABOUT XU MO AND ARES. So, Xu Mo also has a quirk that's very apparent in his ASMRs where he repeats himself because he flusters the MC so bad she's always like "Huh!?".

But as Ares he literally has a line where he coolly says that he doesn't like to repeat himself and that he won't repeat himself...

Switching gears, Xu Mo also shares a habit with Li Zeyan where they give nonverbal responses. In Xu Mo's case, he goes "Mm?" "Hm?" or "Oh?" and tends to raise the end of his sentences to soften them. Li Zeyan just grunts acknowledgements LOL but it's the hottest noise in Chinese.

Lastly, Xu Mo really, really loves nicknaming the MC and has called her kitten, sea otter, this lady, night owl, etc. It's adorable! (I'm not mentioning his use of little fool or silly girl because I'm going to go more into that in Li Zeyan's section.)

LI ZEYAN

Okay, let's get the elephant out of the room. One of his speech quirks is calling MC a dummy, idiot, or moron LOL.

But there's an extremely interesting cultural difference here that people might not be aware of. In Chinese, the word he uses for "idiot" and "dummy" (笨蛋; bendan) is actually light and almost negligent. If I were to give an analogy, it's more like he's calling you "silly" all the time.

Obviously, the fact that you're being called something still hasn't disappeared. But the word Li Zeyan uses lands as a 0.1/10 on the insult scale in Chinese.

I don't have enough background in sociology to explain why this is but there's an interesting talk about the vagueness of Japanese insults vs. English ones that basically applies here to Chinese too:

One likely reason for the relatively few Japanese words for 'fool' is vagueness. In both English and Japanese, the words for 'fool' have meanings that vary along scales of friendly–hostile, or joking–serious. In English, at one end of a scale are words like silly goose and at the other end are words like stupid asshole. And in Japanese, at one end are words like kamaboko baka 蒲鉾馬鹿 'silly chump' and at the other end are words like baka-yarō 馬鹿野郎 'damn fool'. The difference is in the degree of lexical diversification along the scales of meaning. English seems to have more 'fool' words with more specificity – Japanese seems to have fewer 'fool' words with more vagueness. There are decided pragmatic and communicative advantages to such lexical vagueness. If you call me a stupid son-of-a-bitch, I know exactly what you mean. But if you call me a baka-yarō, I cannot be so sure of what you mean. The expression baka-yarō 馬鹿野郎 is one of the most insulting terms in the Japanese lexicon, but it is vague and can range in meaning from an affectionate 'silly-willy' to an abusive 'jerk-off fool'. Baka-yarō is so widely used that it has become semantically weak and vague. Such vagueness can serve to conceal hostility and thus to maintain social harmony.

Carr, Michael (1982). "Baka and Fool". The Review of Liberal Arts. 63: 1–18. Retrieved 2013-04-19.

On this note about insults, all the other guys have their own terms for the MC as well. For example, Xu Mo and Bai Qi use 傻瓜 (shagua; fool, silly melon) with Xu Mo often adding more affection with the diminuitive 小 (xiao; small, little).

I've seen Luoluo take some heat for also calling the MC "stupid" like Li Zeyan but did you know in Chinese he only uses 笨 (ben; dumb) which is even more lighter than Li Zeyan's word? It's like a 0.01/10 on the scale.

Putting this cultural difference of insults aside, I've mentioned above that Li Zeyan is also a fixer of problems like Bai Qi. Except he goes straight for it without checking with the MC (overbearing CEO style). He decides on an action, carries it out, and then tells MC after the fact.

[Marauder SSR Change Hotel Call] He switches her hotel immediately and gets her to move only after he's done it during their call.

[Chapter 11] Pretty much the entirety of this chapter and how he had her treated at the hospital, escorts her to and from work, assigns bodyguards for MC, etc.

Basically, whenever Li Zeyan receives MC's problems, he'll make a dry comment about it first, but then end up solving it.

I also think that, out of the rest of the guys, he questions MC the most on everything (remember, Xu Mo isn't naturally confrontational until he goes cold or Ares-mode). Li Zeyan can't seem to stop himself from challenging MC's views and opinions every step of the way (in his mind, he's doing it for her own good).

On a side note, I think he also has the habit of being unable to say what he truly wants to say sometimes and you can hear him swallow back a lot of words or just sigh heavily. For example:

[Call after Main Story 11-19: Routine Greeting] Granted he was really emotional due to story reasons here. But there were so many pregnant pauses and heavy silence.

[Gentle Confrontation SSR Tacit Game Call] In Chinese, when MC opens with her question you can actually hear him go "Uh..." LOL. IT'S HILARIOUSLY CUTE. But the rest just has him sighing deeply.

I mentioned above that he and Bai Qi share a similar sense of humor in being deadpan, but Li Zeyan definitely takes it to another level. He also delivers a serving of dry wit or sarcasm. I think it's cute that he mimics the MC a lot though and their inside joke is him recalling everything she's called him.

[Main Story 11-16] Same speech pattern. "Are you Li Zeyan...?" "... Are you a moron?"

[Winter Infatuation SSR Before Sleep Call] "Even though on the way back you were clearly crying, 'Ah, so tired... ah, so sleepy...', the moment you get home you have the energy to turn on the computer?"

There's too many occasions where he quotes her words about him being an unsmiling K(ing), but whenever it happens some cute back and forth ribbing gets brought up. Like how it slipped out of her mouth, but he just so happened to recall it too and it's not like he remembers this stuff on purpose or keeps it in his mind. Uh huh.

Despite how exasperated he gets though, Li Zeyan never stops participating in all the silly games MC drags him into. Is this true love--- LOL.

Lastly, I want to bring up how Li Zeyan gives nonverbal responses much like Xu Mo except his are like grunts of acknowledgment. His favorite words is probably 嗯 (ng). The sound is more like "en" with a bit of a nasal noise and just means "mm". It can be used as a question too.

But hands down I think it's the hottest noise in Chinese LOL especially when Wu Lei (Li Zeyan's Chinese voice actor) does it in his deep voice. Erm, oops, getting distracted.

My main point here is to say that Li Zeyan leans towards being brief and monosyllabic, moreso than the other men. For example, in [Main Story 18-8] Li Zeyan uses the shortest words possible to reply to Xu Mo. At one point he literally just goes "Reason?".

I actually think he uses the most Chinese idioms to get across his meaning as short as possible (but this would be impossible to carry over in English...). Xu Mo tends to use 4 character combinations too but those are for scientific theories and don't count.

A Chinese player actually compiled the majority of idioms you hear from Li Zeyan LOL and here they are. By the way, these are supposed to be said as one whole phrase but I've added spaces to make the pronunciation clearer:

少见多怪 (shao jian duo guai); lit. seldom seen very strange. It means making a fuss or being excited over something normal.

上蹿下跳 (shang cuan xia tiao); lit. leap up jump down. It means jumping around excitedly and being hyperactive.

当众出丑 (dang zhong chu chou); lit. public fool. It means making a fool of yourself in public or making yourself a spectacle.

差强人意 (cha qiang ren yi); lit. lacking improvement to one's expectation. It means being barely passable or barely satisfactory.

不近人情 (bu jin ren qing); lit. not close to human emotions. It means being unreasonable or inhuman, and this one was actually Li Zeyan asking if MC sees him as this.

乱七八糟 (luan qi ba zao); I don't think you can make this literal but it basically means a complete mess.

自作多情 (zi zuo duo qing); lit. self-made many feelings. It means being full of yourself, like a narcissist, or flattering yourself by thinking people love you when they don't LOL.

漏洞百出 (lou dong bai chu); lit. full of leaks. It means you're full of loopholes, inconsistencies, and all your arguments are faulty.

莫名其妙 (mo ming qi miao); I'm not sure if this can become literal either but it means baffling, ridiculous, or incomprehensible.

想都别想 (xiang duo bie xiang); It literally means don't you even think about it LOL.

笨手笨脚 (ben shou ben jiao); lit. dumb hands dumb legs. It means being clumsy.

罪加一等 (zui jia yi deng); lit. adding a cardinal sin. It basically means becoming doubly guilty or you just keep piling up wrongs.

叽叽喳喳 (ji ji zha zha); lit. chirp chirp. But it basically means you're being a chatterbox, babbling, and jibberjabbering.

Of course we can't forget 笨蛋 (bendan; dummy, idiot) and 白痴 (baichi; moron) which are the insults Li Zeyan uses the majority of the time, the former more than the latter. These aren't idioms though.

#mlqc #mr love queen's choice #love and producer #mlqc victor #mlqc gavin #mlqc lucien #mlqc kiro #mlqc xu mo #mlqc li zeyan #mlqc bai qi #mlqc zhou qiluo #love and produc(ing) meta

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iggy-dearest · 4 years

Text

Happy valentines day Vergil

Vergil peeks out from the shelter of his pages for what seemed like the thousandth time that day.

Valentines Day

You two used to celebrate it before your ‘unplanned separation’. However, since he then decided to stay by your side and be the dutiful husband that you deserve. And he’s determined to treat you liek the queen you are. He doesn’t know what to do, every plan he comes up with just seems to have an equally horrible chance of blowing up in his face!

Your poor husband

Should he take you out?

No you don’t like crowded areas that much. What if you have a panic attack while your with him. He doesn’t want you to feel scared!

Should he make a homemade gift?

No, he’s never been good with crafts, that’s more of your forte.

What if he takes you to one of those spa’s you and the other women go to your occasionally?

No, you don’t like certain people touching you and it also seemed like something you did with just the girls, and Dante said. Whatever the hell that means.

Maybe he should make you some dinner?

Although, he really can’t cook, like at all. He remembers when you first started traveling together in your teenage years, he nearly burned down that cheap hotel room. ‘How do you burn water’ was your question. He never got near the stove again, traumatized and deeply embarrassed by the fact that he’d burned water. Although he supposes tea counts? Doesn’t it?

Tea!

He should get you tea. You appreciate it as much as he does. As far as he knows your taste in tea hasn’t changed much. He also noticed that you seem to be running out of your favorite blend and if he remembers correctly it isn’t very easy to come by.

Perhaps he could somehow get Dante to leave you alone for the night? Although he wonders how he should approach the matter with him.

The door opening as abruptly as it did was what snapped him out of his thoughts and what made you jump in your seat. “I’m back!!!” Dante hollered like he was on the worlds biggest sugar high. “Why are you yelling” you asked, although you don’t know if you want to know the answer. You spotted the familiar shaped box in his hands, “did someone get a treat” you teased with a glint in your eye that made your husband weak in the knees. “You bet your ass I did” Vergil saw the smile on your face when you saw Dante sporting his own. A feeling gurgled in his stomach, why did you have to be so close with Dante?

Taking a box into your hand you saw a name written in beautiful penmanship,,, one Dante never could have forged even on his best day. “Who’s Sandy” you asked propping yourself up on the desk. “New girl at Sammy’s” Dante said now sitting in your old seat behind the desk. “Oh~” you know who he’s talking about she looked young apparently has a really big crush on Dante.

“Either of you get any yet?” Dante questioned

“No, not that I know of” you sighed out,stretching your back out, how long have you been sitting in that chair. “I think I’m gonna head home for the day. Okay?” You asked.

You honestly have no idea what your gonna do, you just don’t wanna stay with him anymore. You don’t know if he’s going to try anything with you. Quite frankly if he does it means he’s trying to wine you back, which is confusing for its own reasons and if he doesn’t it means that he doesn’t want you anymore which hurts more then it sounds like. You just don’t know. Maybe you should just go home, listen to some opera to clear your head make some tea to calm you down and maybe watch a movie. A silent film seems fitting and not as pathetic as your love life.

“Ok” Dante agreed, what the hell has his idiot brother been doing this whole time. Honestly, does he not see a perfect opportunity when it happens to be standing a few feet away from him and is walking out the door.

“See you tomorrow” and with that you leave to drown yourself in tea and perhaps some wine.

“What the hell have you been doing for the past 3 hours, Vergil?!?” Dante yells.

Vergil turns his head to the window once he sees you cross the street he gets up himself. Time to get his affairs in order, Dante straightens up as he sees his brother get up from his seat.

Is he going to stab him?

On Valentine’s Day

Nice way of showing your brotherly love, asshole.

The younger twin watches as his brother wordlessly puts his book down on the coffee table and walks out of the establishment. Heading in the opposite direction that you were in.

Where the hell was he going?

~~~

It’s here he knows it’s on this block. You mentioned a new tea shop that had just opened up that carried your favorite blend. He knows because the look on your face was not one he could ever forget. Vergil walked down the street although it seemed more like cantering. His eyes strained a bit from the light reflecting on the shops naked windows. Than back to the small scrap of paper he had jostled down the name of the store.

Infused

Was the name. Simple easy to remember, he likes it.

Walking inside he is greeted to a mix of smells. The strongest being from the fruity blends that you happen to dislike. He doesn’t much like them either.

“Welcome” said a store clerk. The clerk approached him “Hi I’m Joshua, if you need any help, just ask me” he said with a well practiced smile.

When did humans get so..nice?

“I’m looking for a specific blend” Vergil started. “Peppermint lavender” he finished dammit if only he’d taken the nearly empty container. That would definitely help his situation. “We have a few choices, if you’d like I can bring them out and you can see which one it is that you’re looking for” wow, when did humans become so helpful.

Vergil nodded he didn’t usually prolong his time with others, but for you he’d do just about anything. Because you’re worth it, you always have been. He was just a fool and didn’t always see it.

He heads to the counter where the salesman has all the teas laid out for him. He squints his eyes as he trues to remember what your container looked like. It was...white..with purple outlining.

The salesman watches as the man who’s face looked like it was chisled out if marble and looked like he should be at a fantasy fair tried to make up his mind. He hopes he doesn’t choose the one thats mainly white, he’s had his eye on that one for a while and it the last one!

“This one” Vegil decides pointing to the one that’s the most similar to yours. He really hopes that it’s right, it’d be really embarrassing if it wasn’t.

Shit!

He choose the one he had his mind on. Maybe he could just say that it’s been reserved?

No, the salesman saw him before he walked into the store. He actually walked past it a few times too, but he had a look on his face that screamed ‘determination’. The salesman sighs internally, he probably needs it more then he does.

“Excellent choice” he says his rehearsed line and moves to the cashier.

~~~

Vergil hopes he’s not to late. He runs through the street. It’s getting late, he’d stopped to pick up some takeout that you liked courtesy of Dante for the information. He wants to get there before 8 o’clock otherwise he’d come off as wanting sex.

Wouldn’t he?!?!

And then he remembers, he’s got a sword that allows home to teleport. Really Vergil crosses his mind. With two precise swings he is at your apartment building.

However, this might be the hardest part. Going to the door of the woman your head-over-heels for and asking for her to let you into her safe space.

~~~

You sigh that’s enough of the silent films. Maybe you can leech off of your sister-in-law’s disney account. You decide Disney makes everything better. It even makes you feel better then you crazy love life.

You look at your glass, shit! That was your last spot of tea. Oh well, that just means you’ll have to break out the wine. What goes better together then Disney and wine.

You’re about to get up and stretch when in the place of hearing a tired joint popping, you hear a knock. Who the fuck knocks at, you peer at the time on the cable, 7:50pm. It had better not be your annoying neighbor, your not in the mood for his dumbassery. You’d much rather just sock him in the chin or slam the door on his nose, either work for you.

The knocking comes again. “I’m coming” you’ve decided it’s not your neighbor, they wouldn’t have waited so long to place their next knock.

So who the hell is it?

“Vergil” is the only word to make it out of your mouth as you open your door. What is he doing here. He looks a bit out of breath, is he alright?

“Hello”..hello...hello. Who the fuck even says hello anymore. Thats it Vergil’s used up all of his confidence. Why is it that he can face demons with no problem yet he can’t even face his love without freezing up. “Um,” what the hell are you supposed to say. “Is everything alright” you let out, sort of leaning and hiding behind your door. That door is your best defense right now if anything happens or if you just wanna slam it in his face because he talked out of his ass.

“Yes-no-uhm” christ can someone help him.

“Happy Valentine’s Day” he mumbles

“What” you ask, he must be nervous if he’s mumbling around you. Though, you’re glad you still have that effect on him.

“Happy Valentine’s Day” he finally manages, his voice filled with a bit more confidence than before.

You watch as he hands you a cylindrical container. It looks familiar to you, “this is..” you’re surprised he noticed “where did you find it” your so surprised, that’s good right? “The tea shop you mentioned” was his only answer “Vergil, I mentioned that weeks ago” your surprised he still remembered, even you didn’t remember it all the time despite being a frequent costumer there. Your glad that he did though-oh is that Chinese food.

“Thank you” sincerity dripped through your voice, and for that it’s worth it for him. You’re worth it, you always will be. “Would you..like to have dinner” now your surprised “I’d love too” you moved aside and let him in. You hope he likes Disney.

~~~

Vergil could not be happier then he is in this moment. You asleep and curled into his side, empty plastic containers strewn put on the coffee table complete with disposable chopsticks. With a Disney movie ‘Alaadin’ you said the name was, illuminating the otherwise dark apartment. He sees you shiver slightly, he takes the throw blanket that is draped over the back of the couch and lays if on you, his neck will hurt in the morning but he really doesn’t care. He’s not moving, no man in the world would. He slowly reached for the remote and turned the TV off.

I love you, he thinks as he starts to drift off.

I love you, you think as you snuggle closer into the source of your warmth, and you have a feeling that it won’t go away anytime soon.

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qserasera · 3 years

Text

tagged by @chidorinnnnn, thank u so very much

Name: lady_peony/qserasera

Fandoms: still in a good run of persona 5 feelings, and now a little a Lot of Genshin Impact feelings thanks to another otp with trust/loyalty kink AND spying AND ulterior motives AND canon Betrayal (childe/zhongli :’’), and jumping in and out of various danmei fandoms when the feelings warrant it

Most popular oneshot: ambiguity aversion is still up there in number of hits haha

Most popular multichapter: i feel like that might be hmm...the co-written ‘the light we kindle here’ with 3000+ hits and 62 bookmarks.

for individually-written multichapter fics, the two-chapter-part ‘stand and deliver your diamond ring’ with girl!protag of P5 has 2000 hits and 67 bookmarks it looks like :DD

Fics Nervous to post: every fic. every single one. :3

Coming Soon:

a valentine day shuake one which i have a premise for!! now i just need...to write...

more chili fic...knowing me, it’s going to have protective otp behaviors and maybe hurt-comfort for spice :’‘)

Favorite things to write: poetic atmosphere i think?? i have too much fun with details of surroundings/clothing, and also small gestures of body language as indication of implied feelings

Actual worst part of writing: fishing a semblance of plot out of my id, ie giving an actual structure for the Aesthetic to build around; writing action scenes

How you choose your titles: a word, a concept, a line from a poem that is in the general area of the mood my fic is going for

Do you outline: sort...of...? most of my things are one-shots, so it’s not so much an outline as a numbered list of scenes on like ‘this and that’ might happen, and then i smooth out the transitions between them in a second review of the draft

Ideas I probably won’t get around to, but wouldn’t it be nice?

hmmmm i might get around to the idea eventually so i don’t really want to put it down here...protective!zhongli over an injured!childe is Really crunchy tho i will have to toss that into the pot of simmering ideas

Callouts @ Me: pls write a fic in which the characters Actually confess and have a Happy Ending, what is with all these UST oneshots!!!

Spicy Tangential Opinion: insert grammar rant here--being slightly :’’( over skipping fics that don’t use commas/periods with their dialogue in the rite spots and weirdly capitalize their dialogue tags...pls...there are like 3 rules of punctuating dialogue it’s not higher level calculus aha it’s just a personal peeve because i see it spreading in occasional fic summaries of other fandoms and im like ‘oh no’

also a little cultural knowledge on names/forms of address is pretty important--thank goodness for some of the excellent fandom primers on how names work in chinese-setting fandoms

tagging @defeateddetectives @futuresoon and anyone else who feels up for this!

#memeity meme #long post #replies to an admiring bog

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hellzeldagirlsfanfic · 4 years

Text

A Red Devil`s Valentine

Fuck Dante.

That the only thing that the part-time secretary/demon hunter of Devil May Cry could think about her boss and boyfriend.

Dante being his lazy self had pushed an easy job on to her. Not that like she had a mountain of paperwork and bills to sort through.

(Y/N) let out a sigh as finally pulled up outside Devil May Cry after being away for a week. Once the engine of her car was off (Y/N) took five minutes of peace before heading into the building, running her hand through (H/C) hair to calm herself down.

Grabbing her weapon and travel bag, (N/Y) got out of the car that when she noticed that the lights and the sign were turned off.

“Fuck off!” (Y/N) cursed. “He didn’t pay the fucking electric bills again,” She angrily cursed again as she rushed up the steps outside the shop.

But when she placed her hand on the door handle, when (Y/N) noticed the sound of music coming from inside the shop. It was soft piano music, the romantic type.

With her hand on her weapon, she processed carefully into the shop. Dante wasn’t at his desk like normal and the shop looked clean for once (Patty must of stop by recently). But what caught (Y/N) ’s attention was the set of candles on Dante’s desk. “Dante” (Y/N) called out for her boyfriend.

There was a sound from the kitchen before Dante appeared at the said kitchen door.

’Jesus Christ’ (Y/N)s mind screamed when seen Dante.

The half-demon was dressed in a tight pair of black leather trousers with a black dress shirt tucked into his trousers, all button-up with a red tie. And to top it off he had tied his hair back into a ponytail.

Dante’s appearance had left (Y/N) dumbfounded and hot that she didn’t notice the two plates in his hands, which he placed on top of his desk.

“What this?” (Y/N) questioned.

A white eyebrow was raised at the question.

“Well, if I’m not mistaken today is the fourteen of February,” Dante stated as moved closer to his girlfriend. Once close enough he wrapped his arms around (Y/N)s waist, pulling her closer to his body. “So, I want to spoil my adorable and sexy girlfriend,” he said before moving his face closer to her ear. “I’m going to feed her some tasty food then I’m going to fill her body pleasure that she won’t be able to walk for a week,” he whispered into (Y/N) ear.

Whilst he was talking, Dante pushed his knee in-between (Y/N) ’s legs rubbing it against her clothed entrance. A moan slipped passed her lips which made the half-demon smirk at her before he removed his knee from her legs. (Y/N) whined at the loss of it.

“Later babe,” Dante said which earned him a pout.

Dante pressed a light kiss against his girlfriend’s lips before leading her to his desk. Dante had placed another chair in front of his desk so the two of them could have a romantic dinner.

“Is this why you sent me away sent me away for a week?” (Y/N) asked, digging into her favourite Chinese meal.

“Just for the day but that was the only job that would get you away from the shop for a bit,” Dante confessed.

The two of them continued to eat their Chinese takeaway sharing a bottle of wine between them.

When dinner was finished Dante took the plates away to the kitchen and surprisingly clean them, giving them more time to let their dinner settle.

After drying his hands off, Dante walked back into the shop. Walking up to (Y/N) ’s chair and placing his hands on the arms of the chair trapping her in it.

Ice blue eyes stared lustfully down into (E/C) eyes. A sultry smile spread across the woman’s face before she reached up and wrapped her arms around her beloved’s neck.

“What’s wrong Dante?” (Y/N) asked as brought her face closer to his.

“Nothing,” he mumbled against her lips. “Just thinking how hard I’m going to fuck you,”

He smashed his lips down on her in a heated kiss. Their lips moved against each other but neither of them willing to open their mouths first to take the kiss to the level. But when Dante ran his hands down (Y/N) ’s achy body she released a moan, allowing his tongue into her mouth. A battle between their tongues began as they fought for dominant.

Dante’s hands continued wandered down (Y/N) ’s body until they reached her arse. He gave a good squeeze – which earned him another moan – before he moved down to her thighs. Once his hands were under her thighs, Dante lifted (Y/N) up. (Y/N) opened her legs her to let Dante in which he made himself comfy there.

When their bodies met (Y/N) could feel how hard Dante was against her clothes entrance. (Y/N) grind herself his erection. Dante growled at the feeling of his girlfriend grinding against him. He quickly turned around to place her on his desk so they could continue their fun.

Dante quickly stripped (Y/N) of her jacket and top as he won the battle of dominance of their kiss. Dante pulled away from the kiss to take a look at his girlfriend’s gorgeous body.

“Oh god,” he moaned.

Cladded over her breasts was a red bar with white lace around the cup with a black bow in-between the cups.

In turned on Dante even more to see his girlfriend dressed in his colours. Especially since she had adorable blush across her cheeks, breathing heavy due to their activities and her hands resting on her collarbone with her arms either side of chest pressing her breast together.

It a hot site for Dante.

“I wonder if downstairs matches?” He teased as he began to pull her jean down.

And to Dante’s happiness (Y/N) was wearing a matching pair of bra and pantie.

The pantie were the same colour red as the bra but the white lace sat in the centre of the underwear, a semi-circle with the black bow sitting top centre of the lace.

Dante growled as he felt his demon pushing to take over and ravish (Y/N).

Lending down, Dante kissing (Y/N) again, who this time happily opening her mouth for him. He soon grew bored of her lips and moved to (Y/N) ’s (S/C) neck kissing, sucking and biting at the skin resulting in a series of moans.

Slowly Dante moved from the neck to the breast. Pushing the cups of the bra away to reveal the beautiful site of (Y/N) ’s breasts and nipples. Dante kissed his way to her nipple. When he reached the nipple, Dante’s tongue circled around it before bringing his lips around it.

(Y/N) let a pleasurable sigh and breathy moans.

The half-demon didn’t leave the other breast neglect as he massages it and played with the nipple with his thumb and forefinger. Dante swapped between the nipples making sure they both got equal treatment.

When he grew bored with her breast, Dante kissed his way down the centre of (Y/N)’s body to what he desires the most.

Using his teeth, Dante pulled down the red panties that were covering (Y/N)’s core. Once the item was pulled off his girlfriend’s legs, Dante got to see how wet he had made her. And she was drench.

Dante buried his face between (Y/N) ’s legs, his tongue lapping at the tiny bundle of nerve hidden there.

The sucking, licks and tiny bites leaving (Y/N) a moaning mess.

“Dante, Dante,” She gasped. “Please don’t tease,” she begged.

Dante pulled away, licking up (Y/N)’s sweet nectar that was left on his lips.

“What’s wrong, babe?” He asked, now looming over her.

“Please don’t tease me,” (Y/N) reiterated. “I just want you inside of me,” she begged.

Dante stared down at his heavily blushing girlfriend.

“Teasing?” He questioned before he trusted two fingers into her. “Like this?” he smirked at mewling girlfriend.

The pace of his fingers were fast not caring to give her any pleasure just teasing her a bit. Feeling quite devilish he lent over to sucking on her clit. Dante removed his fingers and lips once he felt that (Y/N) was flustered enough. He brought his finger to his mouth to lick them clean of her nectar.

“I hate you,” (Y/N) said.

“You do?” Dante said with a raised eyebrow. “I guess you don’t want this then?” He said moving to release his cock from the confine of this tight trousers.

A grumble came for (H/C) before she launches herself up to grab the top of Dante’s shirt and dragging him down to meet her face. (Y/N) smashed her lips into his.

Dante let out a groan. He grabbed her hips then trusted into her, earning a moan from both of them.

His thrusts started off slow and sallow but gradually speeding up with his trusts hitting deeply into her.

Dante broke away from their kiss to concentrate on leaving marks on (Y/N)’s neck.

The coil in (Y/N)’s stomach began to tighten. Dante could also feel her walls getting tighter around him. He let out a growl, his grip on her hips grew harsher as he ploughs harder, making sure he hit her G-spot as he trusts.

(Y/N) brought her legs up to wrap around Dante’s waist bringing them closer and him deeper into her.

Finally, the coil in her stomach snapped. (Y/N) cum screaming Dante’s name as she clenched around his cock but he manages to hold off cumming with her and continued thrusting into her, overstimulating her.

Once (Y/N) had come down from orgasm Dante flipped her over. She was now lying face on the desk with Dante looming over her with a bruising grip on her lips.

The half-demon panted into (Y/N)s ear as he trusted back into her warm, wet and tight cunt.

They both moaned when Dante re-entered her.

His thrusts started lazy before gradually building up speed again.

Dante sneaked a hand between (Y/N)’s legs so it could play with her clit whilst the other hand played with her hard nipples. He occupied his mouth with nipping and kissing the back of (Y/N)’s neck.

(Y/N) had become a moaning mess with all the pleasure she was receiving.

Soon (Y/N)’s cunt began to clench around his cock again. Dante also felt his own end coming as well.

A loud growl left Dante’s throat before biting into the juncture between her shoulder and neck not too deep but deep enough to draw blood.

The bite sent (Y/N) over the edge clenching harder around Dante, who after a few thrusts join his girlfriend pure bless, pumping his seeds into her womb.

Dante gave a few trusts before completely coming to a stop. He detracted his teeth from (Y/N)’s neck, giving the bite a few licks.

A hand fisted into Dante’s hair, dragging his face away form (Y/N)’s neck to her face. The hand pushed the white hair mans face closer until their lips meet. The kiss was slow passionate.

Dante pulled out of (Y/N) which resulted in a whine form her at the loss of his cock.

Dante chuckled at (Y/N) reaction.

“Don’t worry babe” he told her. “We’ve got all night,” He whispered.

He stepped away from (Y/N) and picking her in a bride style.

“I have some strawberry and cream upstair,” he said. “Sounds lovely,” She replied.

Dante smirked at her then processed upstairs to continued their fun all night and well into the next day.

#devil may cry #devil may cry 5 #dante x reader #dante x you #dante #dmc dante #DMC #devil may cry v #devil may cry x reader

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docholligay · 4 years

Note

Winston and Lena for Geeky =P

@madegeeky YOU ARE VERY LOVED. Also this is abbout 2500 words and thus not even really a ficlet anymore but instead

A Stopped Clock 7.5: Lighting-Up Time in London

I hope you enjoy it! All of A Stopped Clock can be found here.

It was raining in London, which you’d think Winston wouldn’t even pay attention to anymore, used to it as he was, but he still noted it. He’d had Tracer back in London two weeks, and already he’d seen improvements to her condition, and so it could rain as much as it wanted. She loved it anyway, she was a creature of the fog and mist. She was always complaining about how dry Numbani was anyhow.

The question, of course, still hung over him as to how much better she would get. Mercy had no idea, either, simply shaking her head and saying by every model she could figure, Tracer should not have survived the shock of it in the first place. Being ripped in and out of time was hard on a body, not to mention the aspects of sensory overload that the absence of time itself had on her. He tried not to think on it, too much, as the answer for him would never change as to what he would do. He would take care of Tracer, for as long as she needed, or as long as she lived, whatever came first.

Besides, it was much easier in London. The Oxtons were constantly helping, bringing over food and offering to help with cleaning and dishes and whatever else Winston and Tracer might need. Making sure Tracer’s life was as pleasant as possible was more of a group project here, and he knew no one would try to take her and put her away, and for that reason alone, rain or not, Winston felt much more at ease.

Athena’s voice rang overhead. “Parvati is at the door.”

Tracer’s cousin was a frequent visitor, a seeming palette swap of Tracer herself born a month later. Winston opened the door for her, grocery bags in hand, her long black hair swept up into a low and lazy bun that didn’t fully contain it, dark eyes glittering with mischief as she winked at Winston, deep freckles dancing across her face as she smiled that Oxton grin.

“Brought you a few essentials.” She eased past him without being invited, knowing she had no need.

Essentials, by Parvati’s measure, was likely a container of beer and cider and few frozen pizzas. Sometimes she thought ahead enough to bring some meat, or vegetables, but it was always a scattered array. In the kitchen, Parvati made Tracer look like a domestic goddess, which she was always quick to counter was reversed when something needed cleaning.

Depositing her essentials in the exact spaces Winston had imagined, a light blue bag from work still slung over her shoulder, she clapped Winston on the arm.

“‘Ow’s this romantical sort of day going for you, big guy?”

Winston looked at her, puzzled. “What?”

“‘S Valentine’s Day,” she took something out of the bag, “on that note, Teddy ‘ad me bring you these.”

They were sweet rolls, in the shape of hearts with pink frosting. Anything from Teddy’s bakery was generally a treat, but he must have remembered how much he liked these.

“Ones with raisins in, your favorite, right?”

“I,” Winston stumbled, “Yes, I love them, I, I totally forgot it was Valentine’s Day.”

Parvati gave a crackle of a laugh. “Women ‘round all of London will be crying tonight,” she saw his slight slump of the shoulder, “I’s only joking Win, why should you know what day it is, been a bit busy, you have, and that’s the bloody truth.”

“Do you have plans?” He asked setting the rolls out for later. Maybe Tracer would feel well enough to have tea.

“Intend to,” she chuckled, “but so far, not much luck.”

“Weren’t you--” He shook his head. “Nothing.”

“No need to be bashful for it, Win, wasn’t I seeing a man, you were going to ask, love, and well, true enough, I was, but I find men are a bit like fast food adverts. You see it, and you go, ‘right enough, think I’d love that!” get it ‘ome, nothing but a bit of greasy cheese stuck to some weak little patty and the ‘ole thing covered in oil, think I’d learn, but I never really do, curse of me life, it is.”

Sometimes talking to Parvati made Winston miss Tracer, in ways he could not articulate. She had the same rapid fire stream of consciousness, the same easy laugh, the same patter. She didn’t have Tracer’s quality of movement, exactly--no one did--but it was obvious they had been raised together, and it made him feel a desperate longing for Tracer to come back to him, just as she’d been.

“Should be seeing Lena,” Parvati nodded, “if you’ll excuse me, told me to come by early.”

Winston nodded as Parvati headed to the side room that had always been Tracer’s, even when Winston had first bought this place, before she’d been so badly hurt again. It was nice that people came to see her, and her family seemed patient with the idea that she didn’t really talk too much, still, or that she needed a bit of quiet and calm. In all, he supposed, they were both very lucky. The Oxtons had taken him in like a stray, given them his last name and told him to say no more about it.

There were plenty of things he needed to do today. He had to try and get everything together to start advertising his repair business. It wasn’t glamourous, but he could fix nearly anything, technology wise, and so what if it was cell phones and laptops and not high-end equipment? He’d made his interest known to the British government, thinking they might have need of his particular skills, but of course, with Overwatch crumbling, they were keeping their distance.

So, cell phones and laptops it was, no job too big or too small for your friendly repairape. It would be enough to get them by, with her family’s help, and he could do it from home, so she could be cared for, and so Winston didn’t really care that it was somewhat of a stepdown from the cutting edge work he’d been doing. Maybe there would be enough time to tinker, and that would be nice. He’d always liked that.

Valentine’s Day. It was strange to think that a day devoted to love might mean anything to him at all, and he would have convinced himself he didn’t care, when he was younger, before he’d had any sort of a family to call his own. And now he was getting sweet rolls from someone who owed him nothing, and he had completely failed to reciprocate.

Teddy wouldn’t hold it against him. It wasn’t in his nature, and the two of them had always had a bit of a kinship, being giant, quiet marshmallows folded into a family of tiny spitfires.

Maybe he would see about getting dinner delivered for him and Tracer, something special. Whether she was seeing someone or wasn’t, Tracer had always made a special point of doing something with the two of them for Palentine’s Day, her own giggling inclusion to a romantic holiday that allowed space for the people she loved in all the other ways. Maybe Italian? Their favorite was always Chinese, and sometimes Indian, but Valentine’s Day was a special holiday and so he wanted to get something special. If she was feeling up to it, maybe they could watch a movie together.

Nothing too much--Mercy had recommend Tracer not drink on the medicine she’d prescribed, and he never wanted to make Tracer feel bad for forgetting, she’d been trying to get well, of course she wouldn’t pay the day any mind--but just something, so Tracer would know he still felt himself lucky to have a friend like her.

Yes, he resolved, that would be a nice quiet Valentine’s Day between them, and that would be just lovely.

His thoughts were disturbed by the sound of Parvati calling goodbye to Tracer, shutting the doors quietly behind her as she swung back around to where WInston sat. It had been nearly an hour, that he’d been sitting there just daydreaming, he realized, and had gotten so little of the work he’d meant to accomplished.

“Seems pretty well today,” Parvati nodded to him, “minute by minute, sun comes back up, don’t it?”

He envied the Oxtons their easy faith in resilience. It was not that they believed things would work out, so much as they believed they could recover from them. East end flattened in the Omnic crisis? Always did hate that pub, opportunity for something better to go in. Tracer ripped out of time? Well, she was always a strong little thing, she’ll come right. Someone you love has died? We’ll all live the harder for them, say their name over a beer. They were born with sunshine and steel in their spines, and he adored them.

“She’s getting better,” he nodded.

“Course she is,” Parvati shifted her bag onto her shoulder, “told her the plans for me birthday, and she’d be barmy to miss that, love, and you as well, Win, you never come out and you should.”

“Parvati, that’s not until September.”

“Right,” she giggled, “but I know you, Win, and it’ll take you the ‘ole seven months to talk yourself into it. Oh! And Lena’s wanting to see you as well, likely to tell you all about me birthday plans.”

She had a small point, but he refused to concede it, instead scowling playfully and waving her off. Parvati chuckled as she tied her shoes and headed out the door into the damp and grey of a cool London day, flicking open her umbrella with a flourish as the door closed behind her.

Winston closed the lid of his laptop. There was no way he was going to get anything done until he’d spoken to Tracer and made sure she didn’t need anything, anyhow. Maybe he could come back to it with fresh eyes and get a little more done. Tracer would be excited, he hoped, for their dinner plans. He would suggest she order whatever she liked, and as much of it as she wanted. She was eating a little better, in the past few days, but it was still a worry of his. There was only so many times he cared to have an argument about whether or not she needed a nutrition shake.

He lumbered quietly into her bedroom, decorated with pictures of her family and friends, little drawings by some of the smaller Oxtons, and postcards from some of the scattered Overwatch folks who cared enough to hope she got well. Tracer herself was leaned against a large pile of pillows, looking out the window at the drizzle and the pigeons huddling under the eave of the house for warmth. She still carried the pallor she would carry for months, and there was a quality of fragility about her that seemed so out of character no matter how long it persisted, but her sweater was brightly colored, and when she saw Winston come in she smiled brightly, and pushed herself to sit up.

“Win.” Her voice was a bit quiet, but warm and bright.

He settled in next to her bed. When he sat on the floor, they were nearly nose to nose, and Tracer seemed to appreciate it, at least until she could easily climb on his shoulder again.

“Parvati said you’re feeling good today.” He nodded as if that extra emphasis would make it true.

“I think so!” She looked back out the window again, “‘ope the pigeons are staying warm, but I must be honest, missed this in Numbani.”

She touched the window, and the cold ran through her for a moment. Her body jumped and she gave a small whimper, hanging her head and closing her eyes.

He reached out and put his hand on her leg, almost without thinking about it, his touch heavy and gentle. Tracer put her hand on Winston’s and they sat there for a moment, Tracer taking a few deep breaths before she opened her eyes.

“Don’t always think.” She managed a small smile.

“I was thinking,” he kept his voice soft, “tonight, for dinner, it’s Valentine’s Day--I,I forgot too, so don’t”

“Oh Win, but I didn’t forget!” She leaned forward excitedly, nearly jumping toward him, which itself was a bit too much, and she had to brace herself on the edge of the bed for a few quiet seconds.

Don’t be a worrywart, Winston, he reminded himself, she hates that. She’s testing things because she’s feeling so much better. That’s good. She’s fighting. She’s winning. Just takes time.

“I didn’t forget,” she continued, nodding slowly, “I got you something. It isn’t very much, really, but I made Parvati ‘elp.”

She turned to her little bedside table and took out a card. The red envelope had a few heart stickers on it, and in clumsy, difficult handwriting, it said “To Win. I love you. Lena.”

“Still shaking a bit,” she looked down at it, “not as pretty as it might be.”

He took it from her trembling hands, trying not to show how overwhelmed he was by the quality of her love, even after knowing her for these last few years. A few weeks ago, she had been barely able to speak, hardly able to be touched, and here she was, thinking about Winston on a silly side holiday.

Winston ran his hand over the envelope. It almost seemed too much to open. How hard must it have been for her to write? Every letter she would have struggled through was an I love you, and he wasn’t sure he could bear it.

“I didn’t do anything for you.”

She gave a chuff. “Think we can both agree that’s a bloody lie.”

He looked up at her. “I thought maybe I would get us some Italian. Have a little date for the two of us, watch a movie?”

“Oh Win, I’d love to!” she reached out slowly, resting her head on his shoulder. “I love you. Happy Palentine’s Day, love.”

Her eyes held that glimmer he’d always known, and he felt the sunrise Parvati had mentioned.

There were so many things Winston could not control. The rain in London. The market for mobile repair. Whether Tracer would ever fully recover. But he could do this. He would make a nice cozy spot on the couch for the two of them, two little Valentines safe and sound. He would get them rich, thick pastas, and play some sappy movie.

He may not be able to fix her, but he could love her, and be loved by her, and today, that was enough.

#HON HON HON #Valentine's Day Ficlets #I finally get to introduce you all to Parvati #who I have known for nearly two years #but never really had cause to introduce #except in passing #so #I hope you enjoy! I had a lot of fun writing this one #obviously #since it got out of hand #thoughtfulfuri

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galadrieljones · 4 years

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That he may hold me by the hand - Chapter 11

Pairing: Arthur Morgan x Albert Mason

Rating: Mature (Adult Themes and Situations, Violence, and Sexual Content)

Summary: After saving Albert from stumbling off a cliff in the Heartlands, Arthur invites him to Valentine for a drink. What ensues after that is a quiet love story, in which both men find themselves completely undone.

Masterpost | AO3 | Epigraph

Chapter 11: You have eased my strife, Mr. Mason.

“When I was about fourteen,” said Arthur, taking a drag off the hash cigarette, “I got in a bind with some fellers in Jackson, Wyoming. It was a rough place, but you could make a living there in a lot of ways. I made mine in cards.”

“What kind of cards?” said Albert. Arthur passed him the cigarette. They were in the sheets, undressed, smoking, drinking whiskey, soaking in the light of the Chinese lanterns. They’d never gone back down to the bar that night, after the gallery opening.

“Blackjack,” said Arthur, exhaling a lungful of smoke. “Poker, too. I wrangled on a couple ranches for a while before that, but the take wasn’t half as good, and the working conditions—well let’s just say I was starving. My pa, for whatever he was nor wasn’t, before he died, had a method for counting cards and memorization, calculating odds and such, which he taught me, when I was nine or ten. From this, I knew how to cheat multiple games in such ways that could not be detected, and given my age and general disposition, it was easy for me to hustle money out of men, particularly those with drinking habits and…unhealthy predilections toward gambling.”

“That sounds incredibly difficult,” said Albert, “and dangerous, given how young you were. Jesus, Arthur.”

“As long as I kept my head down and did not get too greedy, I rarely got anything worse than a smack in the back of the head,” said Arthur, laughing to himself. “I made enough to buy myself a room above the tavern where I most liked to play. The bartender’s wife looked out for me, which was a godsend, let me eat one meal a day for free. And I just remember—I was so glad to be out of the Tetons. They was ravaging my soul, and my body. I was skin and bones back then.”

“What happened,” said Albert. “With the men, the bind.”

“Oh,” said Arthur. “Right. I got greedy one night. It weren’t smart, took too much. A couple men, they had ten years on me and about seventy-five pounds each, they jumped me after a game. One of them was fixed to kill me with a broken bottle. I was in the alley, just takin a piss. I still remember the full moon, overhead, as one of the guys sucker-punched me from behind. You know I didn't stand a chance. But then a couple other fellers—Dutch and Hosea, that is the night I met them. They came around the corner with their pistols, scared off the riffraff. They hauled me off the ground, took me back to their camp, cleaned me up. They had a reverend with them, and a woman, and she fed me and doted on me till I came to, mentally. It was…terrifying at first. I had no idea what they wanted with me. Turns out they was just helping. I was a bird on the wire. I didn’t know no better. They made me one of them, and we lived pretty hard, but it was not for lack of all comfort. We left Jackson and went south to Colorado, running the boomtowns down there for many years. Then we went on east, north, into the Dakotas and made a run through Chicago. That weren’t for us, but Hosea had business partners there, made a bunch of money on a real estate scam before we split, and that is also where we picked up John.”

Albert was listening intently. He asked many questions that night. “How old was John when you found him?”

“Weren’t more than twelve,” said Arthur. “I was 21. He was so small, I remember. I grew fast as a boy. I was skinny, but I was always tall, even from the time I was a kid, and it’s harder for people to mess with you when you’re tall. You just tend to get more respect. But John grew late. He was just tiny, till he was an older teenager. That day we came upon him, some farmers had been making to hang him outside the city. He’d been stealing their hogs, some grain, but hanging a kid? That didn't sit too well with Dutch. When we picked him up and brought him back, he was mute for a while. We thought maybe…maybe something had happened. Like that he’d hit his head, or something. But eventually he woke up and started terrorizing everybody, everything. He was angry all the time, getting us into trouble with locals, the law. When he finally started to hit manhood, we was back in Utah. I taught him to box, made him shut the fuck up a little, focus. I don’t know, I guess some men need that kind of discipline.”

“What about you?”

“I was taught young to shut the fuck up,” said Arthur, smoking. “My pa, he didn’t really take no lip. Especially not after my mother died.” He looked at Albert, smiled. It was all okay. He wasn’t looking for sympathy or validation. He was just talking. Albert understood this by now. He said, “What about you, Mr. Mason. Are you a disciplined man?”

Albert found this amusing. He looked down at the joint and shrugged. “At times,” he said. “It would depend on what you call disciplined. What do you think?”

“I think you are,” said Arthur, studying him. “In your core, you’re pretty hard to shake from the rails. Steadfast. Even if you are a little frantic around the edges. I ain’t gonna forget the first time we met, wrangling your bag back from that thieving coyote. Or how you almost died that day we went to Valentine, showing off on a goddam cliff.”

Albert laughed. “Yes, well. You made me nervous.”

“Did I?”

“In a way,” said Albert. He reached for his whiskey on the bedside table. He finished it in a single swallow. Then he studied the glass as if he had not held it in a while, or had forgotten what it looked like.

“Did you know?” said Arthur, curious. “I mean, from that first day, in West Elizabeth. Or the wolves in the Heartlands. Them horses, up in the marsh, near the oil fields. Did you know? Did you feel anything?”

“I knew I wanted to see you,” said Albert. “When I would camp, or come back here or stay in a hotel alone. I thought about the next time I might see you. Occasionally, I looked for you, in a sort of, casual way. I kept my eyes open. Whenever you showed up, I am sure I did a wonderful job of feigning my surprise, but I was genuinely relieved. I always felt the chemistry, between us. I just didn’t really know what it was.”

“When did you realize?” said Arthur, smoking down the cigarette. It crackled and burnt off at the end. He put it out in an ashtray on the bedside table. “If you don’t mind my asking.”

“Not at all.” Albert was looking down at the sheets, which were soft and luxurious, a rich burgundy red. He was recalling. “I think, when we went to Big Valley.” He looked up, right at Arthur. “I was sick. Do you remember?”

“Yes, I do.”

“I thought I was going crazy,” he said, shaking his head, almost like he was talking to himself. “You were so calm in the face of all that nature. Everything about it was sublime. Then, our fingers—they touched, that night, when you passed me a cigarette. Or perhaps I was passing one to you. I'm not sure, but we touched. It hit me then. Struck me like lightning, I suppose. I felt like an idiot, like a school boy. I didn’t come into clarity, not really, until a couple weeks later, when we kissed in the marsh. After that, I was finished.”

Arthur studied his own whiskey glass, still full. From below, you could still hear the people in the tavern, a low, humming delirium. “I think I knew sooner than that,” said Arthur. He took a long drink, exhaled sharply. “That night, after we went to Valentine. I couldn’t get you out of my head. You were all I thought about, for weeks. Of course, it was confusing, but I hadn’t felt anything—not anything, in so long. I couldn’t help it. It was loud inside me, like a drum. By the time we got to Big Valley, I had been working to push it down for fear I was out of my league. Of course, it bubbled up again, came to a head in the marsh. Unlike you, I ain’t so good at putting words on things.”

“You’re quite good with words, Arthur. Give yourself a break.”

Arthur waved him off. “Anyway. You know, two men together ain’t that uncommon on the prairie. Dutch and Hosea, I know they’ve taken…comfort in one another over the years. Women can be scarce, living like we do. Sometimes, they die tragically.” He looked right at Albert, his dark, soft eyes. “But that’s on the prairie. In the eyes of societal living, I ain’t sure what we got is gonna earn you many points, Mr. Mason.”

“If I wanted societal living, I would go back to Philadelphia,” said Albert.

“What about your mother,” said Arthur. “You said she knows about me. Everything, the whole truth?”

“Yes,” said Albert. “The whole truth.”

Arthur took a deep breath. He glanced toward the window, the Chinese lanterns glowing softly against the cityscape outside. “You don’t want children, a family?”

Albert could sense some growing insecurity then, inside of Arthur. They had never talked about this before, so it was not unexpected. He placed his hand on Arthur’s shoulder so Arthur would look at him. “The goal is not one thing or the other,” he said. “Why? Are you worried? Is that something you want?”

Arthur smiled, sort of weary, like he’d been had. He said, “I’ve already had that, Mr. Mason.”

“What?”

“I just didn’t get that far yet in my sob story. I’m sorry, Albert.”

Albert was very surprised. He straightened up off the pillow, set down his glass. “I see,” he said, the hair pushed off his face, getting longer by the week. “It’s just that you never mentioned. You have children, a child?”

Arthur cleared his throat. "I did," he said. He seemed unaware of how to hold his hands. He laced them together and gazed down upon them. He took a deep breath. “I'm sorry. I just don't talk about it a lot."

"It's okay."

"It all happened in Montana," said Arthur. “Butte—silver mining town. The girl I met, her daddy was a foreman in one of the mines. She was a waitress at a tavern in the town, and we had…a relationship. One summer. I was about twenty-three. She was nineteen.”

“What happened?”

“A mistake,” said Arthur. “I got her pregnant, like a derelict, couldn’t stick around past September because the law was on my ass. We rode out. I went back a lot of times to see her, and after she had the baby, to see him, too. She let me come back, let me stay with them. She didn’t blame me, nor hate me, nor ask no questions. It was okay. I did my best to do right by her. I brought her as much money as I could every couple months. I just—the boy, he made my life different, for a while. Changed me.” He blinked. He looked away as if ashamed. “One day, ten years ago, I went back there for his fourth birthday. I had bought him a kite. But when I got to the house, they wasn’t inside. They was buried out back, in the ground, under a tree.” He closed his eyes in collection of his faculties. He stonewalled his heart, opened them back up again, then he opened one of his hands to pick at a callus on his palm. “Turns out her daddy owed some money to an outlaw gang that can’t be trusted. They sent a couple men over to her, like a threat. Killed her and the boy, stole her jewelry box. Probably had ten dollars worth of silver inside. I was a week too late.”

Far away downstairs, a woman laughed, loud and lovely, as if inside a memory. Albert stared at him, unable to speak at first. “What were their names?” he said, eventually.

“Eliza James,” said Arthur. He lit a cigarette, smoked it, hung his head. “And Isaac.”

There are times when the air goes out—of talking, of the room. It is still and silent, like floating toward the sun. Unsure of what to do now, Albert put his hand firmly on the back of Arthur’s neck. He sort of tugged him forward until Arthur looked at him, really looked. His eyes were dry and very blue. Albert kissed him, soft at first, then harder, on the mouth until Arthur’s body gave. He tossed the cigarette and pushed his hands up Albert’s bare back. They parted. Albert touched his forehead to Arthur’s and closed his eyes and said softly, “I’m sorry, dear friend.” He had one hand in Arthur's hair, gripped tightly. "Like so much else in your life, that is not something you deserve. I want to—fix it. That is selfish, even to think, I know. I am so sorry."

Arthur seemed relieved, to be honest. Mostly, he was just glad to be rid of the tale. He was always revitalized by Albert's calm talking. “It’s okay, Mr. Mason," he said. "It has been many years. I have dealt with it, and I’m okay. Thank you, though. And you ain't selfish.”

They sat for a while. Even with the emotional gravity of the conversation, the kiss had come spontaneously, leaving them both now hard beneath the sheets, and agitated. Albert asked Arthur what he wanted to do, and as was Arthur’s tendency, he didn’t say much. He studied Albert, that was all, and then he placed his mouth on the soft of Albert’s neck and kissed him. The motion was slow and revealing, pried the moment back open, as he pushed Albert back against the pillow. He was feeling a lot of things and the only thing he wanted to do at this point was to yield. He drug his lips down past Albert’s throat, the dip of his chest, all the way to the base of his cock, which he proceeded to wet generously with his mouth. He then climbed back up to the top of the bed to look Albert in the eye as he worked him in firm strokes, up and down, growing in his intensity until Albert closed his eyes, his head tipped back, and with a low moan, he came. It was very little, as they had already gone once earlier that night, but as Arthur knew, no less pleasurable. He cleaned the spend off Albert’s stomach with his mouth, kissed him and left him limp there, got up to pour more whiskey, which he stood drinking, stark naked in the light from the Chinese lanterns, beside the purple velvet couches near the french doors.

He was very pleased with himself.

“Come back over here,” said Albert, as a lump on the bed. Everything on that bed was expensive, and fine, Albert included. Arthur was no longer tired.

“I’m good,” said Arthur, smiling, sipping. “Why don’t you come over here.”

“I can’t rightly move at the moment.”

“I’ll wait.”

Sometime later, they were dressed in soft clothes and sitting on the velvet sofa, leaning on each other. Arthur was sketching—just something dumb. One of the women he remembered from the gallery opening. She had been wearing a hat that looked like a peacock. Albert had his eyes open, looking at the ceiling, which included a hand-painted silver gilt. The design was Spanish. He recognized it from an art history class he had taken at Haverford years before.

“It’s pretty late,” said Arthur, glancing at the clock on the table. “Almost one.”

“I’ve nothing to do tomorrow. Do you?”

“Not a thing,” said Arthur.

They sat for a while longer, listening to the sounds of the piano and the people from the tavern. John and Mary Beth were still down there, with Josiah, getting into god knows what. They’d rented rooms for the night and intended to see it through till morning.

“You thought at all about the opening?” said Arthur. “You think it went well?”

“I do,” said Albert. He sat up, looked around. “Are we all out of hash?”

Arthur nodded to the cigar box on the table.

“You know, I was the envy of everyone at that party tonight.”

Arthur glanced up from his drawing. “How do you mean?”

Albert opened the cigar box, a beautiful piece of timber, hand-carved, from Cuba. He withdrew two cigarettes—lit one for himself, offered the other to Arthur. Arthur declined, so Albert tucked the spare behind his ear and settled back into the chair, smoked with his eyes closed. “The way you look, the way you seem.”

“I look like I rob banks for a living,” said Arthur, continuing to sketch, the round of the feathers in the woman's hat, “which, I do, by the way. Or, did.”

“Sure. But to them, you are a symbol,” said Albert. “Of something authentic, something true, from the past. Maybe you’ve robbed banks, but don’t underestimate your appeal to people like that.”

“People like what.”

“People who have been hermetically sealed inside the safety bubble of their social class. They are unable to fully understand the kind of truth you represent.” He took a long drag, exhaled.

“Do you think that bugs them?”

“No,” said Albert. “Or, sort of. It enchants them. You enchant them. They would like to understand, more than anything, but they are afraid.”

“Of me?”

“Well, yes,” said Albert, smiling to himself. “And the truth, in general. That is why they buy art. To be as close to the truth as possible without ever actually having to live it.”

“And what about you,” said Arthur, grinning. He liked Albert’s anthropological musings on his own kind. He thought it a strength most lacked.

“I’m an artist,” said Albert, performative. “By rule of nature, I get to do more. I move in and out of the truth. I have access to the path. And I have you on the other side, to inspire me…my muse, and they envy me for it.” He smiled, very knowing, set down the glass on the bedside table. “I’m very lucky.”

“Muses are supposed to be naked women,” said Arthur. “Not overworked outlaws.”

Albert lit the cigarette and smoked. “Naked, overworked outlaws work just fine.”

“If you would like to photograph me without my clothes, Mr. Mason, you missed your chance. I am dressed for the evening.”

“Perhaps another time,” he said.

“Maybe when we get out west,” said Arthur, lighting his own cigarette now, shaking out the match and closing his journal. “How’s that sound?”

Albert smiled at him, lazily. His eyes had begun to droop and glaze over with the smoke. “I’ll look forward to it.”

“What do you mean, he’s not coming back?” said Dutch.

He and Hosea were sitting in the gazebo. It was deep night, and the swamps seemed to glow green on the horizon, as if the waters were poisoned. Back by the fire, Javier was playing his guitar. It was a sad song, and Karen could be heard singing along at sweetly drunken intervals.

“I mean that we should expect we may not see him again," said Hosea. "Arthur’s life has grown complicated outside the gang, Dutch. Complicated.”

“In what way?”

“He’s met somebody.”

“Who?” said Dutch. He had been smoking a cigar, but it was cold now between his fingers. “Who has he met.”

“Somebody,” said Hosea.

Overhead, the moon was like a bright socket. Dutch was not angry. He was confused, thought Hosea. He was very confused, looking upon the night as if pained beyond imagining. It was a mixture of his regular drama, and his selfishness. He was a narcissist. Everybody knew. Hosea best of all. But the redeeming thing about Dutch was, that when he wanted to be, he was a good man. He was a caretaker, and merciful. But this was a difficult side of him to coax at times, especially when the night was dark and the future unclear. “Hosea," he said, on and on. "Arthur won’t leave the gang for a woman. That kind of trust in God’s fair creation ain’t in his bones no more. Frankly, I’m surprised you would even think so.” Dutch went to smoke the cigar, but seeing as it was no longer lit, this pissed him off. He tossed it away. "A goddam woman."

Hosea felt something rattling around in his lungs, coughed some into his sleeve. He glanced out past the gazebo wall to where he saw Mary Beth sitting on the ground, surrounded by the vast perimeter of her skirts, feeding dinner scraps to the dog. Hosea was not prepared to tell Dutch about Arthur and the photographer. It was not his place to do so. “Just take my word on this one, Dutch. Will you, please? Let’s just let this one go. You and me. We don't need him. We got a lot of good guns left. We don't need him, not anymore.”

Dutch looked at Hosea as if he did not recognize his face. “How can you be so cavalier about this, Hosea? He’s our partner. He’s been with us for twenty-two years.”

Hosea stared at Dutch and then past Dutch. It was like looking at a black hole. How many years had gone by since he had last felt love long and hard enough to pluck him from the life? Love is what kept him in the life. It is what he supposed was meant to be, for him. It was how he had lost Bessie. Arthur was his own man, struggling with his own lifelong surge of joy and pain, laughter and sadness. Hosea shrugged. He looked at Dutch and he felt resigned. “Because it is time," he said. "It's just time."

#red dead redemption 2 #arthur morgan #albert mason #arthur x albert mason #rdr2 #that he may hold

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